Arrow and Amazon
by Angelbach
Summary: Returning to the Island after the Undertaking changes everything for Oliver and Felicity as a truth or rather a memory is revealed that will change everything!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Arrow and Amazon

Author: Angelbach

Rating: T

Pairing: Oliver and Felicity

Disclaimer: The characters of Oliver, Felicity, Diggle and others belong to CW and DC Comics.

I've noticed there's a neglected DC character/universe out there in the realm of Arrow fan-fiction and as my muse won't let me alone until it's out of my head, here I go.

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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Chapter 1 – An Introduction

An amused grin crossed her face as her younger sister paced furiously across the room after watching the second season of Arrow, hands waving in the air. "I cannot believe that they... it's so totally screwed up, who could have given them all that information and messed it to such an unbelievable level, oh of course, it had to be her, this is just another attempt to make people think that...!" Her rambling became almost inaudible as she continued pacing.

Leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest, her permanent silent shadow smiled slightly. When his girl was like this, his world was the epitome of normal.

"Sister..." The elder woman rose gracefully to her feet, her black-blue hair falling back over her shoulders in waves. "Surely this helps to hide the truth of what happened that year – is that not a good thing."

The younger woman swung round, her blonde curls flying madly around her. "Not when the truth is so sacrificed for fantasy and nonsense such as this, sister and threatens everything we have built together."

"Princess..." It was all he said but for them, it was as always all that was needed. A single step forward and she was in his arms, head resting against his chest. He pressed a kiss to her head and turned her so that she was leaning, her back to his chest, his arms wrapped around her slender waist and her own resting on top of his.

Shaking her head at the inseparable pair, the elder woman waved the small group of people standing just outside of the sitting room they were in into the room before she addressed the concern of her younger sibling. "That may be so, little sister, but you have already shown that not even the potion of Mnemosyne can separate the two of you so why would this person be a threat to you."

"It's not that, sister, it's..." Blond curls flew all over the place as she shook her head and she sighed heavily just before her tall companion led her over to the two-seated sofa to sit down, as did the others that had entered the room.

And as was now their habit, she lay curled against his side, his arm around her while her hands held his free hand while he played with a single lock of hair that fell over his fingers. With her head resting against him, it was he that spoke this time. "Too little truth can be as dangerous as too much truth."

"Then it's about time that we at least knew the whole truth." The third member of their group leaned forward, an amused tone to his voice as always when speaking now to them. "At various points through that year, one or more of us were not around to know what really happened."

"Yeah, that's for sure," The youngest of the five men present spoke up, a look of pain crossing his face briefly from his own memories of that time.

The raven-haired sister sat back in her own seat, an amused expression crossing her face. "Your warrior companion speaks truthfully, little sister, even I am not aware of exactly what happened that year or even..." She broke off, feeling a wave of pain at that particular memory of her own and then shook her head, leaning it to the side much as her younger sibling was prone to do. "So where did this tale begin? When exactly did things start to differ from what has been shown us?"

The young couple looked at each other; blue eyes burning as they held one of their famous silent conversations before she turned back to look at the others, sighed and spoke.

"It begins where all things begin with the Arrow and Oliver Queen, it begins an island know as purgatory. It begins with Lian Yu."

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_Well, I'm back again, I should be working on my AU Hobbit but this little gem would not get out of my head and I had to put it onto the page._

_The one thing I am really good is taking what has been seen the screen and making it my own - readers of my Willow/Angel stories will be able to testify to that._

_So here's the challenge, look at season 2 and think about what parts can be Amazoned - (I'm sure you've all worked out who the Amazon is at this point - both elder and younger)_

_I look forward to seeing what you have to say and look forward to bringing your ideas into my new Amazon AU_ ;op


	2. AAA Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**Chapter 2 – Island Reunion**

With a cry, Felicity Smoak sat up in bed, holding her head as a shot of pain wended its way around her temples. She quickly looked around the room to check that she was still in her hotel room and not in the strange tropical green that had been in her dreams.

It was almost as if the information that Oliver was hiding out on the island that had changed his life since the events of the Undertaking had unlocked something in her sub-conscious because this dream, this dream had been even more vivid than normal.

Carefully shaking her head, she got out of her bed and started to get ready for the trip she was so not looking forward to and without even realising it, began to ramble out loud.

"Darn you, Oliver Jonas Queen, why did you have to go and hide in a place that needs a plane to get to – you know that planes mean flying which means being in the air – and you must have know we would find you and would come and get you, this cruel and unusual punishment, Oliver and you are so going to have to be made to play in some way, I promise you."

John Diggle arrived at her open doorway just in time to hear the end of her ramble and grinned as the sudden image of little Felicity grabbing hold of Oliver by the ear to berate him for his poor behaviour entered his head.

"Felicity..." He suppressed a laugh as she jumped at being caught off-guard. "Are you ready, we need to get going?"

She muttered something under her breath in response that had him glad that he did not have Oliver's superior hearing as he was sure that it was as unequally uncomplimentary to him as she had been about their absent friend and boss recently.

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"Felicity, if you're so scared of flying, why exactly are you sitting up front?" Diggle queried with a repressed note of concern in his voice. He had not missed that the closer they had got to Lian Yu, the blonde IT genius had become paler and paler, fingers brushing at her temples as if trying to push back something and he was becoming concerned for her.

"It was the only seat that had a seat belt." She almost stuttered, opening her eyes for a brief moment before closing them again.

"It wouldn't help if we crashed into the sea at full speed the way we are going." He muttered before the pilot started speaking, pointing the land mass that had just risen out of the cloud and fog. "I think that means we're here. Come on Felicity."

He moved back into the inner part of the plane and started to put on the parachute, followed by a clearly panicking Felicity. She took one look at what he was doing and then the next thing she really remembered was throwing up on the beach.

"Thanks for waiting until we touched down." Diggle said with a repressed laugh as he folded up his parachute before picking up their bag and starting away from the beach.

"My pleasure," Felicity replied ironically as she quickly wiped her mouth and started to follow him. "Just don't forget that I know how to wipe you from existence, John Diggle."

"Yes, thank you for that." He adjusted the bag slightly, "Let's move."

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Even as he raced across the island at full speed, Oliver could hear the plane approaching the island and somehow took up his speed another notch, literally snatching his bow and quiver as he passed where he had stored them. He moved towards the beach where it was likely that whoever was coming would likely pass if they were going to come in from the air.

He was also hit with the vague suspicion he knew who was coming – he had felt this strange, almost electrical sensation running down his back over the last couple hours and the last time he had felt it was when he had been... He stopped that thought almost before it began.

With swift, almost silent agility, he moved up into the canopy of the forest so that he could have the advantage of whoever was approaching – it was also the safest way to travel through this part of the forest with all the landmines that were spread out in the area.

'_And if this is who I think it is, you can almost guarantee that..._' He thought to himself as he caught the sound of a familiar voice.

A clear click followed by Felicity's panicked "Digg!" had Oliver almost literally jumping from one tree to another to look down on what was happening.

Diggle was holding up his hand, pen-knife in his other as he moved slowly towards Felicity. "Don't move." He bent down and cleared some of the dirt away from the object she was standing on. "It's a landmine, I'm going to try and disarm it."

"You can't" Oliver shouted down immediately, preparing his bow and arrow. "Diggle back away, Felicity... DON'T move."

With that, he fired across the glade into a tree opposite him, grabbed the line with his gloved hand and went down the tramline, catching Felicity in his open arm (noting almost absent-mindedly, that she had her own arm up in the air ready to catch him around his shoulders without being told) and swung her off the landmine to safety as it exploded from the sudden loss of weight.

What happened next was to change everything they all knew about Team Arrow.

Felicity looked up into Oliver's eyes, her expression strange as she ran her hand into his short hair. "That's the third landmine you've saved me from on this island, archer-boy!"

"I live to serve, princess." He replied almost without thinking and leaning down, kissed her.

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_And it begins - one simple act and the world as Arrow fans know it changes forever into my AU world._

_I'm going to ask you all to look at my AN at the bottom of CH 1 and make the same request please. Reviews are also welcome as I would like to know how people feel about this alternate universe I am putting together._

_I also want to say now that while this is a season 2 alternate season, not everything that happened there will happen here - lets just say I have something different for a certain Russian import in mind! - but quite a lot will remain within the boundaries set up._

_I will also say now that plaguing me for updates will not get you very far - that's all I'm going to say there!_

_So get to it people - there's an Arrow and Amazon waiting to hear from you :op_


	3. AAA Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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**Chapter 3 – Before the Storm**

John Diggle stared at his two kissing partners in complete and utter astonishment. While he had always believed that there was something between the two of them, he was still sure that Oliver was too hung-up on the Lance girl to actually do anything about it.

'_And third landmine,_' He suddenly went over what Felicity herself had said. '_"Felicity hadn't even been sure what she had stood on a moment ago, what the hell is going on?_'

He did the only thing he could do – he coughed out loudly – only to be struck again by how they reacted.

Instead of springing apart, Felicity blushing deeply and Oliver not even looking at her, they separated slowly, still staring into each other's eyes. He brushed back a lock of hair that had gotten loose from her ponytail and then held it in his fingers, looking at it and then back at her – a silent question in his steel blue eyes.

"One of those things we need to talk about." She replied, even as she pulled on the short ends of his hair. "I prefer this haircut."

He actually laughed, something Diggle had never heard him do before and jumped to his feet, still holding her in his arms. "You shouldn't have come here," He murmured as he looked over to Diggle and then back at Felicity, his arm around her waist. "But I'm glad you did."

"We need to talk..." Diggle replied as he reached out for the bag that he had dropped on going to help Felicity and jumped to his feet. "And about more things that even I know, clearly."

"Then we need to get somewhere safer than here." Oliver immediately took Felicity's hand and started to lead the way, bending down to pick up his bow and quiver as they passed. "There's a storm coming in and we won't want to be in the open when it hits, this island's still not safe."

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Oliver ducked into the fuselage of the downed plane, followed closely by Felicity (who's hand he had not released as he pulled her after him across the island) and then Diggle – who found himself walking into her as she was standing stock-still in the middle of the room.

"Felicity?"

"It... it looks so different." She murmured absently as she cast her eyes around the room, rubbing her head as the memories came even faster. "We didn't have this many boxes when we were here the first time."

Diggle threw the rucksack down on one of the crates that were around the walls, and then helped Oliver gently guide the blonde girl over to sit down before saying, "One of you is going to have to explain this to me, guys because I'm operating in the dark here and that's not a good thing."

"As soon as we've done some storm-proofing, Digg," Oliver ran his hand over Felicity's head for a moment and then stepped away, picking up a t-shirt to pull on. "We don't have time to get to the cave before this hits and the electricity in the air tells me this is going to be a bad one. We'll have plenty of time to talk then."

For all the turmoil inside himself, the playboy billionaire was being remarkable calm about the sudden change in the relationship between himself and his blonde IT genius. It had taken only a quick glance at her to realise that she was still receiving the memories that had been lost to her – just as he was himself; his poker face however was under tighter restraint, thanks to unwanted experience.

Even as he worked to prepare the plane, he couldn't help casting looks towards her, she was paler than she had been when he last saw her in Starling City and it was clear that she had not been sleeping well. When it came to it, Diggle did not look as if he had been having an easy time of it either and he felt guilty at leaving them behind the way that he had without a word.

With all thoughts now internal for all three members of the team and apart from the occasional order from Oliver, the three worked in silence as they worked swiftly until Felicity picked up something that had been off to one side and cried out in pain. Spinning round, the two men found her looking at a silver bracelet, embedded with green gems.

As she began to fall, her other hand rising to clutch her head, Oliver (to Diggle that is) seemed to cover the gap between them with a single leap, catching her in his arms before she could fall. He brought her across to a tent she had set up, gently placing her on the camp-bed Diggle had covered with a sleeping bag he had just found. He knelt down beside her, holding her hand in his even as she clutched the bracelet to her.

"Princess, come on now, wake up, you can't leave again." He rested his forehead on their joined hands, "Not now we're really back together." Her voice was broken in response and she opened pain-filled eyes to look at him. "Why would she do that to us, steal us from each other?"

He didn't reply, in what way could he reply to an almost unanswerable question. Instead, he helped her sit up, moving in behind her so that she could lean against him. As he did so, she unthinkingly put the bracelet back where it belonged on her wrist, pulling her jacket back down over it.

And just as Diggle's curiosity meter reached its overflow, the storm Oliver had predicted hit the island with a furious rumble of thunder and an explosion of rain, unaware that the storm that was about to be released inside the plane was going to be even more life-changing.

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_I know, I know, another chapter already and only a filler one at that - this one was going to explain things but Oliver decided that a real storm was coming in and well, Felicity decided that she needed to make a few more mysterious comments!_

_I would like to take this opportunity to say that I have four decades and growing up with my father's knowledge of late fourties/fifties DC comics plus a certain tv series to work with for this story plus a love of greek mythology so this is really going to take turns that make it AU - oh and OOC for everyone. Sorry in advance to purists!_

_I love all the favourites/alerts/follows this is getting but if you would kindly add reviews as well, it would be most appreciated :op_


	4. AAA Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**Chapter 4 – Revelation**

"I take it one of you is finally going to get round to telling me what is going on here?" Diggle sat down in front of them, the look on his face determined to get the truth from the couple.

Felicity sighed, leaning even further back into Oliver's embrace. "You're going to have to keep an open mind, Digg, there's a part of this story that even Oliver is not aware of. I've only just worked out that titbit of information myself."

"Let's start with the most obvious thing then," Diggle replied, waving his hand at them. "Like the fact the two of you are behaving as if you are a couple when back in Starling City there were no signs of it. Add to that, Felicity appears to have been here on the island and no-one knew of it, not even Oliver before today – and that has to be one of the strangest things that I have said today aside from all the strange things you two have been saying without even realising it."

"Impressive ramble there, Digg, been spending much time with Felicity," Oliver murmured as Felicity laughed slightly. He rested his chin on her shoulder. "Princess..."

Felicity sighed deeply, wishing for a moment that her sister was her to help her with the slightly more wilder parts of the story she was about to give but began. "Five years ago in known time, six in actual time – which would still make it Oliver's second year on the island, I was kidnapped from my home island and brought here to Lian Yu. It has always my belief that I was brought here because the person who arranged it believed that there were properties on this island that could even kill a member of my people."

Diggle looked at her, confusion rife across his for once expressive face. "What the... known time, actual time, your people? Felicity, you're just making things worse."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Felicity sighed then looked at her friend. "It's not that easy, Digg, I wish I could give you a list of straight facts but it's complicated because everything stems from one single thing – who I really am."

"Then who are you?" He asked simply.

"I... am Felicity, sister of Diana Prince, second daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons."

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A crack of thunder finally broke the silence that fell through the fuselage, followed closely by heavier rain.

"Seriously, Diana as in Agent Diana Prince," Diggle said in astonishment, "The Inter-Agency Defence Command's top agent, that Diana!"

Oliver and Felicity looked at each other then back at him. "Felicity tells you she's an Amazonian princess and all you hear is Diana Prince. Digg, you're remarkable!"

"As Felicity is so fond of saying, thank you for remarking on it," He grinned at them, moving to avoid the foot Felicity shot at him in retaliation. "But seriously, Diana Prince is your sister?"

"Yes, she is and no, I don't know where she is at the moment." Felicity sighed as she leaned back against Oliver again. He wrapped his arm around her, running his other hand up and down her arm. "Until our arrival here today, I knew that I had been kidnapped but didn't remember the details. All I knew was that my mother seemed to lose the plot afterwards and when I insisted on returning to the outside world to use my M.I.T education, she convinced our father to bind all the things that make my sister who she is, well except for the healing, endurance and stamina bits as that would have affected my health far too much."

"I take it the rambling is pure you then in any format." Diggle murmured before grinning as this time her kick made contact. "But there is still the fact that for this last year, neither you nor Oliver showed any signs of knowing each other."

"I disagree." Oliver said surprising them both. "We may not have known consciously but something drew us together time after time. After everything that I had been through here on the island, even you queried it Digg, why did I trust Felicity so easily if there wasn't something in my sub-conscious reminding me that I could."

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Another rumble of thunder broke thorough, followed by a strong gust of wind winding through the gaps in the fuselage. Even Oliver shivered at the sudden drop in temperature it brought with it. Reaching behind him, he grabbed his hooded top and a couple of blankets, throwing one to Diggle and wrapping the other around himself and Felicity.

Diggle immediately threw one of the logs on the fire that Felicity had built, then moved to sit on Felicity's other side, effectively joined Oliver in building a wall of protection for the slender girl between them from the rage of the storm surrounding them.

"So..." He started, turning slightly to look at the pair only to suppress a grin at the way Felicity was basically curled up on Oliver's lap, his arms wrapped closely around her and once again resting his chin on her shoulder. "Why now?"

"Because Oliver saving me again from the land mine the way he did the first time I was here on the island broke through the effects that the potion of Mnemosyne held on our memories completely – even though it's clear they would have broken through eventually, well if my dreams were anything to go by and we don't need to go there...3...2...1..." Felicity ducked her head for a moment.

"Potion of Mnemosyne?" Both Oliver and Diggle repeated, bringing her back out with a slight smile.

"Named for the mother of the muses and goddess of memory because it does exactly that, changes your memory," She replied simply. "Oliver and I must have been given it when I was rescued by mother and that... that..."

A wave of pain hit as she tried to access those particular memories leading to an anxious cry of "Felicity!" from both men as she fell back against Oliver slightly.

"It may take a while..." She eventually responded as Oliver rubbed her temple. "I think I've been double-dosed, which is actually a crime back home as only mother has access to that particular potion and if she finds out that someone has stolen access to this..."

"Princess..." Oliver said softly, much like the way he said her name to calm her when she was on her rambles. She took a deep breath to settle herself and leant back him again.

"And the time thing, you said known time and actual time, let's get all the weird things completely out of the way, the rest is just details."

She took a deep breath and dove straight in. "I think to emphasis the effects of the potion, mother must have managed to persuaded father to have Chronos turn time back for a year so that everyone had to relieve it, somehow managing to forget that because Oliver and I are who we are, when the potion's effects were broken the way it has been, we would remember both time-lines."

"You were supposed to be clearing the mysteries up, Felicity, not confusing me even further." Diggle replied at that, earning himself a fist to the ribs before continuing. "Because Oliver and you are who you are?"

Her reply just stunned him. "We're soul-mates; time has no meaning for us."

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_I think that's enough Island time for everyone, I've cleared a few things up, made things more mysterious - it's time to get back to Starling City._

_And remember, there were two Tarzan swings in the first episode of the S2 - so here's smashed glass!_

_As always reviews are really, really appreciated ;op_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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**Chapter 5 – Swinging Destruction**

"Hasn't anything been started to help people after the Undertaking?" Oliver looked out of the window of the town car as they drove through the devastated Glades. The scenes that he saw reminded him of news shows regarding war-torn third countries and then he caught the graffiti referring to Blood. "And who is this Blood person?"

"Alderman from the Glades, trying to save the city and fill your shoes," Diggle replied glancing back over his shoulder for a moment. "...Except our Felicity there thinks that there is something just a little fishy about it and his timing."

"Everything is fishy at the moment, the Glades is in more danger now that it was before and during the Undertaking." Felicity replied simply as she pulled a folder out of her briefcase. "Oliver, this is the dossier we have on Stellmoor International."

"The company trying to take over Queen Consolidated," He asked as he opened it and started flicking through the pages. "Why are there so many pictures of this angry woman?"

"That would be Isabel Rochev, vice-president of acquisitions." Felicity replied as she tapped the screen of her tablet. "She's the one responsible for picking up and then basically destroying about ten companies in the past year alone. She came from out of nowhere and seems to have a particular hate on for QC... oh and her name is on the list."

Oliver turned slightly to look at her. "She's on my father's list."

"Mmm..." Felicity replied absently, unknowingly rubbing her temples as she did so. "There's something else about her that on the edge of my memory but I have a deep-search going on at the moment and I've left a message for my sister as well."

"Then we'll leave it there." Oliver had not missed the pained look in her eyes nor the rubbing of her temples. It was too much like the look she had worn back on the island when she had been telling them about the person who was potentially responsible for her original kidnapping six years ago. He reached out and took her hand, rubbing his thumb along her knuckles to soothe her but kept his eyes on the mirror. "Now I would like to see Thea."

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"I really, really do not like that woman." Felicity muttered to herself as she moved towards the elevator to intercept Oliver and Diggle. It was also bugging her that the brunette had looked slightly surprised to see Felicity herself, almost as if she knew her.

As Oliver and Diggle stepped out of the lift, Felicity stepped forward and straightened Oliver's tie before brushing a hand over his shoulder and then punching Diggle in the side. "You're late, they already in the conference room." Feeling the tension in Oliver's shoulder, she continued. "And F.Y.I. no-one is eating the bagels!" She could actually feel Oliver relax slightly at that as Diggle swallowed a laugh before following both men into the board room.

The brunette rose to her feet on his entrance and held out her hand. "Isabel Rochev."

"Oliver Queen, I'm sorry I'm late." Oliver quickly shook her hand and then released it, noting subconsciously that she tried to hold on to him before she replied snippily, "For this meeting or for a career in business."

Oliver gave one of his playboy half-grins as he sat down, Felicity moving to take her seat at his side at the table. "I hadn't realised that hostile take-overs were really this hostile."

"Actually, I'm in quite a good mood." Isabel responded as she returned to her seat. "Taking over companies does that. Let me make things clear to you as you majored in dropping out of college Mr Queen. You own 45% and we own 45% and in two days, the board will release the final 10% which I will buy and I will have the controlling interest in your company."

The unspoken 'Finally' could clearly be heard Oliver, Felicity and Diggle.

Before Oliver could reply though, Felicity's tablet pinged and she looked down at it. Quickly writing a note, she pushed it over to him. 'Seller just pulled out, IR's % now only 40%, W just bought 5% on your behalf. Don't ask just accept.'

Oliver sat back in his seat, crossing his legs, composing his thoughts before he spoke. '_Why do I get the feeling, princess, you supplied the funding for this'._

Once he was sure that he could control his thoughts completely, he spoke. "You seem to be behind the times, Ms Rochev. I would advise you to check your information before making such a claim. I currently own 50% of my own company, Stellmoor International only has 40% and I can promise you, I intend to ensure that it remains that way."

However before she could respond, the doors of the conference room were pushed open and all hell let loose.

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Just as Oliver threw a worried glance at Felicity, the central man of the three hooded men in black spoke, his gun focused on Oliver. "Oliver Queen you've failed this city. You're going to pay."

As the guns started to fire, both Oliver and Isabel ducked to the floor as Diggle darted towards Felicity knocking her down under the conference table as he started to fire back. He immediately took command of the situation, "Oliver fall back, go, go, go!"

Oliver immediately pulled Isabel to her feet and pushed her ahead of himself out of the doors he had originally entered through when a shout went up from the shooting hoods. "Get Queen!"

Just as he was about to go through the doors himself, he found his arm caught and turned round to find a gun in his face. Seconds later, the hood disappeared as Felicity whacked him around the head with a piece of wood before Oliver found himself diving to the floor with his blonde as another of the hoods fired at them destroying the glass wall and doors.

Within seconds, he was back on his feet, arm around Felicity's waist, mind working with the speed necessary to save their lives the way he and she had done time again back on the island. Even as he did so, he could vaguely hear Diggle ordering to get her out of the situation just as his eyes fastened on the blinds of the office.

"Queen's getting away, after him."

Half carrying Felicity, he ran at full speed towards the blinds, grabbed the chain and jumped through the window, as she tightened her own hold around him. He was aware enough to hear her moan, "Oh god not again!" even as they swung back feet first through the window of the floor below.

Crashing through the glass, over the desk to the floor, he immediately reached out for her. Pushing her hair back from her face, he cupped her cheek, "Princess?"

His tone conveyed his need to know she was alright and she immediately covered his hand in silent reassurance. She then shocked him by hitting in the shoulder, "Why do we always have to do the Tarzan thing through the air, Oliver!?"

It did what it always did, earned her that half-smile he reserved for her alone as he rose to his feet and pulled her up with him, making sure none of the broken glass got near her. He then pulled her into his arms; resting his head on hers as Queen Consolidated security finally got to them.

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_Not altogether happy with this chapter, it's darn hard to re-write an action that was brilliant in the first place just so I can put my own spin on it._

_Please notes, updates will be sporadic, sometimes it will be one chapter in a week, sometimes it will be more than one chapter as I do have a full RL to deal with as well as write._

_If you really are still confused by the earlier chapters, PM me for an explanation - although if you wait long enough it should be cleared up the further along the story gets._

_As always, please review, I sometimes found it helps me look at what I am writing and change direction to make it better! ;op_


	6. AAA Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Please see chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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**Chapter 6 – Travelling Road**

Officer Quentin Lance stood watching the tall figure of Oliver Queen as he talked to one of the detectives that had flooded Queen Consolidated after the attack from the three hooded men. As always, the tall well built black man was just off to one side watching everything going on around him, his hand not far from his weapon – which was not really surprising considering the attack that they had just under gone. He cast a quick eye around for the third member of the team that was normally at his side and for a moment could not find the young woman he had grown to like.

There was something different about this Oliver Queen that was different from the first time he had returned from the island called Purgatory – he seemed to be more confident even in himself but he couldn't quite put his finger on what or who it was that seem to be the root core of the change.

Before his thoughts could delve any further, he found himself interrupted by the slender form of Felicity Smoak approaching him from behind. "I still can't get over you in that uniform, Detective Lance."

"It's officer now, Ms Smoak, for now. I'm just glad it still fits. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" He replied as he noted that she was rubbing her wrists.

"I'm okay." There was a small smile playing on her lips as she brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "I knew I was in safe hands with Oliver."

He narrowed his eyes slightly at that response, instinct telling him that there was something peculiar about it even as he lowered his voice to ask his next question. "Have you heard anything from our mutual friend?"

She shook her head, even as her eyes glanced over to where Oliver was now talking to Diggle, his sleeves rolled up above his elbows – a small smile playing on her fuchsia coloured lips. "Nope, but I wouldn't be surprised if he turns up."

Oliver glanced back at her and caught the playful smile on her lips and raised his eyebrow at her in silent response. She shook her head very minimally and returned her attention back to Lance. "You'll let me know..."

"The moment I hear anything," She touched his arm in quiet reassurance and then moved swiftly across the floor to lay her hand on Oliver's bare forearm.

Lance watched as whatever she said had him relaxing from the defensive, argumentative mood he clearly been in within a second of her touch and voice – something that not even his eldest daughter had been able to do on one of their good days in their old relationship before the island. He also noted that he covered her hand with his own, the kind of silent communication that you normally saw between a husband and wife that had been together for years. _'Huh! Would you look at that! Never thought I would see that?'_

He mentally filed that with all the other strange things that he had been recording ever since the Queen boy had returned the first time and went back to doing his job.

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Oliver and Diggle looked at each other as they followed a storming Felicity into his office. One of the younger police officers had just said something to her and whatever it was had almost had her raising her hand to slap him before Oliver had caught it, pulling her away from the young man.

"I know why you couldn't do anything, believe me, I do know that especially with that..." Felicity took a deep breath just to stop herself from saying the name of the woman she hated from the first moment she had seen her on paper (within her current memory patterns, that is) then continued. "...in the room at the time but..."

He caught her hands and pulled her to his chest. "Princess, it's the way things have to be, you know that." He pushes a lock of hair out of her eyes, pushing her glasses back up her nose with a gentle tap to the tip when he had finished.

Felicity pulled away and moved to stand looking out of the window at the Starling City skyline, arms wrapped around her torso, hands on opposite elbows. Behind her, Oliver and Diggle patiently waited her out. When she did speak, her voice was low but intense.

"I know why you don't want to be the Vigilante any more, Oliver, and I really do understand that." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Did you know that Amazons were famous once for using or killing men; then if they were not a warrior and a threat to us, we would send them home; warriors we would kill without a second thought. That we used to leave any male child born in the open to die or sent to villages near-by, at least that's what we did when living on the mainland. It's only been for the last century or so that the order to drown them once my people had got what they wanted from them was revoked where home is concerned so believe me when I say I understand why the idea of the old vigilante is not what you want."

She turned round to look at him, holding out her hand to him. "But I also know that you can be him without killing someone."

Oliver moved to her side, taking her hands in his and raising them to his lips. "Yes, and we all know the real reason that occurred." Behind him, Diggle chuckled at the memory. "Give me a little more time, Felicity, everything will fall the way that they should – now I have to go and make sure that person cannot get her hands on the last 10% of my company."

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Oliver stormed into his nightclub, Verdant and took in all the glass and bullet casings that were lying on the ground. Over to the corner nearer to the secret entrance to his underground lair, he caught sight of Felicity and Diggle. He was not slow to note that Felicity was shaking slightly, her eyes wide with worry as she took in the chaos of the club.

Diggle nodded his head towards where Roy Harper was currently talking to Detective Lance and Oliver nodded his slightly in return. (And only someone who knew them would have noticed all this happened in merely seconds!)

The moment the younger man caught sight of his girlfriend's brother, he started speaking. "I'm sorry, I tried to stop them but there were too many of them and..."

Oliver did something then that he would never have done before he had returned to the island a second time and regained the truth about his life there. He reached out and touched Roy's shoulder in quiet reassurance. "It's not your fault, Roy. Detective..."

Lance sighed, (although he was somewhat internally amused that the playboy billionaire was also continuing to call him by his former rank – he had also noted the quick look that he had sent towards the tall bodyguard and Ms Smoak before he had spoken to them.) "It's clear that they came here looking for you and when they couldn't find you, they took your sister instead to draw you out. Queen, we will do everything we can to find and bring back Thea."

"I'm sure you will, if you would now excuse me," He nodded to the two men and then moved towards Diggle and Felicity, taking her by the hand as he led them deeper into the club towards the underground entrance.

Behind them, even as he turned back to the young, anxious man in front of him, Lance was not slow to notice Oliver's peculiar behaviour and mentally filed it away with his other observations. Even street-wise Roy was a little astounded by the strange actions of Thea's older brother towards him and to the blonde IT genius.

"So is there anything else you can tell me?"

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_And this would be the first chapter of two this weekend for all you lucky people - the next should be up tomorrow!_

_Please also leave a review for Wizard's View as well - I've never had a story that didn't have at least one review and I would hate for that one to be the first!_

_So next on Arrow and Amazon - 'A Hero Born' ;op_


	7. AAA Chapter 7

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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**Chapter 7 – A Hero Born**

"Just so you know, archer-boy, I made a few improvements down here for when you decided to come back." There was a note of laughter in Felicity's voice as she followed Oliver down the steps into the lair, running her hand down his arm before she freed her hand so that she could go to the light box to pull down the red switch.

As the lights came on one by one, it showed an expanded and much improved underground foundry. As each area lit up, his eyes widened with surprise with just how much she had managed to do in just six months considering how badly the lair had been damaged in the earthquake. Even in his worry for his sister, he could not help but be impressed by the improved medical area which more rightly could be called a bay nor did he miss that each of them had their own work area that were vastly larger than they had been before.

"You always knew didn't you, princess, even before... that I would come back eventually." He felt her slip her hand into his as his gaze fell on the glass box that contained his green suit and gripped her fingers in silent thanks. He then gestured over to her bank of computers with his free hands. "Let's get to work then, what do we know about these hoods?"

"I've been working on that ever since we heard about them on our arrival back." She replied as she pulled him with her over to her computers. Releasing his hand, she sat down before noticing that he was gazing at his salmon ladder - conveniently stationed in front of her so that she had a full view for when he was working on it. "Of course I kept it, Oliver, I loved watching you working on it and that was before my memory came back."

Oliver simply shook his head, the very faintish of blushes high on his cheeks at that – much to the amusement of Diggle – as there really wasn't much he could say in response to that and quickly brought them back to the matter in hand.

It didn't take long before Felicity had zeroed in on a possible candidate – although the fact that he had lost his hand and his wife in the earthquake struck all three of them hard. As she continued to find out what she could about Geoff Deveaux, she caught sight of Oliver approaching the case that contained his mission ready arrows and run his hand over the space where his bow should have been.

Diggle having caught the movement and knowing what she had done immediately nodded his head towards the case that lay on the table next to the casement that held Oliver's leather outfit. With a small smile, she rose to her feet and headed over to it. "You're going to need this, archer-boy, I had it custom made for you, and at least now I know why I knew what be right for you."

As he joined her, Felicity opened to the case to reveal a highly-crafted compound bow that he pulled out and weighed up. "How did I do?" She asked softly, even as a smile played on her lips as she already knew what his answer would be.

"It's perfect but then you knew it would be." He turned to her and pulled her to his side, leaning down to kiss her softly before Diggle coughed slightly. "I have to go; I need to get Thea back."

He ran his finger down her cheek before he headed to the changing rooms but could not miss hearing her say. "Just remember there is another way, Oliver, even if they do have your sister."

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Lance was beginning to think that this day was never going to end. What with the attack at Queen Consolidated, then the attack at Verdant plus the kidnapping of Thea Queen, it had been a day that almost equalled some of the worse that had happened before the earthquake or 'The Undertaking' as he once accidently heard Felicity Smoak refer to it as.

And now here he was, on a phone call from the same-said Ms Smoak standing in an alley in the Glades behind a ruined church waiting for something (or someone) he was not consciously hoping would be there. A sudden sound had him swinging round to find himself looking at four men in hoods tied up to the fence behind him.

"What the...! You!"

Emerging from the shadows, the tall lean figure stood watching him and for the first time, even he could feel the slight hint of amusement that emanated from the hooded man, "Detective Lance."

"You've been gone a while..." And he waved his hand at the four unconscious figures against the fence. "And this isn't your usual M.O!"

"Even vigilantes need to take holidays, Detective and I've..." He paused for a moment, "Been persuaded to try something different."

"Then Ms Smoak is back to being your contact." Lance called after him as the Hood turned to disappear.

"Always," With that he fired an arrow and disappeared into the night only calling back. "Thea Queen is at the front of the church."

Lance actually growled to himself. "And something tells me that I am going to have to get use to that," before he turned to take is radio out and request assistance with the four men he had been left to deal with. Only a vague note in the back of his conscious memory was taken that the vigilante had returned to business on the same day as Oliver Queen had returned to Starling City.

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Oliver sighed as he sat down and rested his head against the back of his chair, listening to Felicity's quiet confident steps move towards him after seeing Walter Steele out of the conference room where he had just faced down the inimitable Isabel Roche (and was definitely understanding why his genius IT had such a dislike for the woman). Just as she reached the chair opposite him, he opened his eyes, reached out and pulled her into his lap. "I am so glad that we got that over with, without any visible bloodshed, to my physical self at least, even if my ego didn't escape... again!"

Laughing slightly, she reached out and touched a button that sent the shutters of the conference room sliding shut before settling back against him, her left arm around his shoulders as she ran her fingers over the back of his head while she played with the lapel of his suit jacket with her right. "Well, you did do it – now you're the major shareholder of Queen Consolidated once more – just like I knew you would."

She ran her finger over his nose as he tightened his arms around her waist. "Not bad for someone who got a D in tenth grade algebra," only to laugh as he buried his head against her with a groan. "If it's online, archer-boy..."

"I know, if it's online you can find it." He continued as he raised his head to look into her eyes, running his hand through her hair and cupping her cheek. "It's just like a good friend once told me, there's always another way, and I just had to find it."

He pulled her down to kiss her softly and then drew back. "Thank you princess, if you hadn't..."

She rested her finger on his lips, silencing him. "You would have found a way, Oliver," and then she sighed. "And we need to get back to the foundry; something tells me it's time we had that talk about our night business."

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Throwing his suit jacket over the banister at the base of the stairs leading into the underground lair, Oliver slipped his arm around Felicity's waist as they walked across the room to where Diggle was reading the evening headlines on the larger presentation screen.

"Looks like Starling City's back down to only one man in a hood." Diggle turned to look at them, folding his arms across his chest as he leant back against the monitor.

"And we just need to decide how we are going to go back into the archery business." Felicity responded as Oliver pulled her to sit down on the evidence table. "My archer-boy here..." She rested her hand on his chest over his heart. "Is not the man that started out as the avenging killer anymore! As much as we still need to deal with your father's list, Oliver, and F.Y.I. Rochev just happens to be on that list by the way..."

Diggle watched with a grin as Oliver silenced his babbling girl with a kiss before speaking, "So..."

"I need to be something else, something that Tommy would have been proud of." He replied even as he tightened his arm around Felicity's waist. "That the princess can be proud of, you two helping me, now that was the first step. Getting my real memories back, I think we can take that as the next step."

"Something tells me you've got a plan, archer-boy, because let me tell you, I'll learn to live with the Tarzan thing, it's always been one of your things, but the landmines, pretty down on them." Felicity replied and making the two men smile.

"The city still needs saving, we've seen that already." Diggle said calmly as he placed his hands on hips. "It needs a hero."

"And the hoods have kind of ruined your original nickname." Felicity added as Oliver rose to his feet.

"But not by the Hood." He moved across to the display cabinet containing his bow and arrows. "I don't want to be the Hood anymore; that was a man that was just crossing names off a list."

Diggle moved forward as Oliver took out one of the arrows and rolled in his figures. "Okay, then what do you want to be called Oliver."

Felicity moved to his side, placing her hand on his shoulder as he raised the arrow in the air. He slipped his arm around her waist and held the green-tinged arrow up between the three of them. "Arrow, I want to be called the Arrow."

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_Second chapter of the weekend and it's even longer than Ch 6 which would have meant this would have been a ginormous chapter if I hadn't broken it into two._

_This one is a bit more Amazoned that the previous chapter which was apparently a little more subtle than I thought!_

_If your reading this one many thanks and if you've read Wizard's View thanks too, please go and leave a review for both stories. It would be greatly appreciated. ;op_


	8. AAA Chapter 8

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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Chapter 8 – Arrival Reactions

The news that the vigilante known formerly as the Hood had returned to Starling City shot across the city almost as fast as one of his arrows. Almost as equally as fast as the news that Oliver Queen had returned and reclaimed his company back – and had a girlfriend, who was also his IT specialist and Executive Assistant.

Of course the fact that playboy billionaire Oliver Queen was actually in a genuinely real and clearly steady relationship was hitting the headlines and minds in ways that was completely unexpected. His board was happy that he seemed to be settling down into more of, in their opinion, a true CEO. (The fact that his choice of partner could talk circles around them when it came to the technological business of QC also had a lot to do with it!)

And it had to be said that not everyone was as happy with the news as some others - especially a certain new Assistant District Attorney Laurel Lance who couldn't decide whether she dislike the vigilante or her former boyfriend the most. (It was the beginning of a downward path that no-one was going to be very happy with.)

Let alone a certain mother currently undergoing a federal holiday as she felt her son moving away from her 'motherly' control even further. (The fact that her daughter was clearly happy with one of her brother's girlfriends and had gained a genuine friend for the first time in her life also seemed to miss the confined mother's notice.)

Then there were the imitators - the most important to Team Arrow being a certain reforming hoodlum who was dating a certain younger sister by the name of Roy Harper. It had actually required a visit in person to be 'gently' convinced that rather determined young man that he would be better off being the eyes and ears of the vigilante in the Glades, rather than trying to be him.

But in some way, what was more alarming was the news that there was a blonde woman in black leather wandering the roof-tops and streets of Starling City – in many ways Oliver's opposite number except her actions always seemed to occur in the vicinity of Quentin and Laurel Lance (A fact that only Felicity had quietly noted so far and not even consciously!)

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After placing the cup of coffee on the desk in front of him, Felicity moved round Oliver's desk and sat down in his lap, resting her arm on the top of his chair so that she could play with the short ends of his hair. "This has so not been a good week for us, has it?"

"It's almost as if everything that could go wrong, did." He replied as he rested his head on her shoulder, arms around her slender waist. "At least we got China White off the streets."

"And persuade Roy to be your eyes and ears rather than risk his life..." She tapped his head. "Although something tells me, he's not going to stop completely Oliver – I don't think it's in his nature not to help someone in trouble. I'm going to have to find a way of chipping him..." Her voice faded away as she delved into her mind, slipping down slightly so that her head was now on his shoulder.

Over her head Oliver looked at the frozen face of Alderman Sebastian Blood. There was something about the man that, although he was clearly genuine in his desire to regenerate the Glades, itched at his survival instincts.

"Stop thinking about the Alderman, Oliver..." He smiled to himself as she snuggled her face into the crook of his neck even as she ordered him around. "And don't think I haven't forgotten about the gorgeous Laurel either or your leg because I am telling you that she and I are going to be sharing some serious words soon."

He was not slow to notice the tension that ran through her as her thought processes turned to Laurel Lance and the trap she had laid for his alter-ego and he lifted her head to kiss her in quiet reassurance. "She blames me for Tommy's death, Felicity, I told you that."

"And I told you, if anyone had to be blamed for his death, it's his own father..." Before she continued under her breath something that not even his sharpened hearing could catch and he raised her eyes to his to silently ask what she had said. "And she should have done as she was told and stayed away from CNRI when her father warned her. Her stubborn refusal to listen to others is going to be a major problem, Oliver."

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Flashback

"Yes, yes, the gorgeous Laurel is perfection itself; she has her whole life planned out without a single care for anyone else around her as long as it fits in with her life plan. And quite frankly..." The Amazonian princess spun round to glare at the long-haired Oliver Queen, her knee-length leather skirt spinning out slightly and only just avoiding his head with the long staff she was carrying. "I am so beginning to get fed-up with hearing about her because let me tell you..."

"Something tells me I'm not going to be able to stop you." He muttered, making the long-haired brunette, sitting next to him as she cooked over the open fire; almost choke on her suppressed laughter and silently glad that their fourth companion was not around to hear the other girl.

"All I've heard where the gorgeous perfect Laurel Lance is concerned is I, I, I – where was the 'we', Oliver, where were your choices? Where were your dreams? It's no wonder you went off with Sara the way you did." Felicity threw her staff on the ground and knelt down in front of him, resting her hands on his knees as she pushed her blue-black plait back over her shoulder.

She fell silent as she looked up into his eyes, blue into blue and he found himself cupping her cheek even without realising what he was doing. "Go, get it all out. You know you want to."

"Oliver, she sounds like the most selfish, self-centred b*** I have never had the pleasure of meeting and I live on an island populated by women, for Zeus' sake. I know you want to apologise for doing what you did to her but as much as I hate to say this, Slade is right, you can't make her the be all reason for surviving. You need to want to survive for yourself."

He bent his head down and rested his forehead against hers, speaking so softly only she could hear him. "I don't think she's been the reason I want to survive this island since you arrived, Felicity of the Amazons."

And with that said, he kissed her.

End Flashback

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Now he looked into the eyes of his princess, remembering what she had said that time on the island, realising that once again she was correct. "No matter what, Felicity, even if she doesn't want it, she is still my friend. I need to help her."

She shook her head, snuggling back down on his shoulder. "And for that reason alone and because I am sure it is what Tommy would want us to do, and for Detective Lance, I won't employ my skills to give her the lesson she deserves. Something tells me she is going to do it to herself."

"That's nice to know but don't you think it's time you two left the office before someone comes up and finds you like this." Diggle actually made both of them jump and they turned to find him standing in the doorway of Oliver's office, an amused look on his face. "I thought that you were going to restrict the PDA's while in the QC building so that you weren't rubbing it into people's faces, for Felicity's sake..." At this he mocked bowed towards her, earning himself a very un-princess like gesture in return from his friend, "about your relationship."

"You better bring the car around then." Oliver replied even as he placed Felicity on her feet.

She started to walk away but stopped as he switched of his screen. "And we'll have to do something about Alderman Blood as well because I dislike him more than I dislike her."

Oliver could do nothing but laugh genuinely for the first time that day.

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_Well that's S2 E2 covered - unless there's a lot of AAA to insert, chapters will cover an episode at a time - that's unless my fingers really get to work and the chapter begins to get a little unwieldy._

_As always please review and if you haven't left a review for Wizard's View, please go back and leave one. The amount of reviews will help me decide whether to write the AU AAA Tommy version or not! Look forward to hearing from you ;op_


	9. AAA Chapter 9

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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**Chapter 9 – An Officer and An Arrow**

Felicity spun round, actually knocking Diggle out of the way as she shot across the lair and into Oliver's open arms on his return to the Lair following his latest encounter with one of Laurel Lance's traps. "Oh thank god! Oliver!"

"I'm alright, it just didn't go the way we thought or rather hoped," He replied softly as he pressed a kiss into her hair. "I'm really beginning to think that you were right with what you said on the island, Felicity."

"I would say I told you so but I think that's kind of given." She replied, running her hand down his back as he put his bow away then turned to hold her back against his side with his arm around her waist.

"Laurel had half the force out looking for you with that silent alarm of hers." Diggle added as he rested his hand on the back of Felicity's desk chair to stop its continuing momentum.

"Because going after the real bad guys is just so last year," Felicity rested her head against his chest for a moment. "Let me guess, you're the bad guy because..."

"I didn't get to Tommy in time." He finished for her, placing a gloved finger over her lips as he caught the familiar rant appear in her eyes. "I know."

She pulled it away then pulled on his quiver strap. "How did you get out of there Oliver because it didn't sound that good over the comms?"

"A masked woman in black turned up and help me get out of there," He replied as he let her ease it over his head.

"Another vigilante like the hoods?" Diggle asked.

"No, she was trained, highly trained from what I could see and she used a..." He took the quiver from Felicity and put it down on one of the smaller tables, leaning on it for a moment, "...sonic thing."

Both Felicity and Diggle grew more alert at that – both moving to stand either side of him, even as they recognised the focused research look appearing in Felicity's eyes. "A sonic thing, can you be more specific?"

"All I know is that she turned it on and the glass shattered." Oliver felt Felicity tense and he caught her by the forearms as she reached for him. "I'm alright Felicity I promise."

"The question is though, who is she and why would she help you?" Diggle added. "And more importantly..." Felicity continued his train of thought, "How did she know help you."

At that and the tone in her voice, Oliver pulled her completely into his embrace, resting his chin on her head as she tried to bury herself inside his leather jacket – without undoing it. "All good questions and I really don't like the idea of another vigilante wandering the streets; we have enough problems as it is. I set Roy on the issue from the streets."

"And I'll see what I can find on-line." Felicity pulled away from him then reached up on tip-toes to kiss him before moving to her computers, saying over her shoulder as she did so. "Don't quiz him, Digg, we both agreed that he should at least try to speak to her."

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Even as Felicity worked her magic on the computers, the following day found Quentin Lance scowling at his own computer screen in the precinct. His ire however was not aimed at the poor inanimate screen but instead at his current Lieutenant who was keeping the news that one of the most fearsome men he had put away in his career had escaped Iron Heights during the earthquake.

Looking over to his lieutenant's office, he caught sight of Oliver Queen on the screen and in an instant he made a decision that would change everything at he ever thought he would do. He picked up his mobile and called Felicity Smoak.

In the foundry Felicity, while valiantly doing her best to ignore the two men wrestling behind her (especially as Oliver was shirtless as normal) suddenly came across a set of records on the police computer. Scanning them through, she made a small sound as she came across the only picture that seemed to have been taken of the mysterious woman.

Oliver had immediately moved to her side on hearing the sound. "Felicity?"

"Look." She said quietly indicating the picture on the screen. "These reports make it clear that she's been around for a couple of months. It seems that whoever she is, she's been attacking attackers, especially those targeting women and with the damage to ear-drums..." She looked up at Oliver as he rested his hand on her shoulder, silently agreeing (she did her best to ignore the way his thumb stroked her bare shoulder unconsciously), "But it's more than that, Oliver, because I don't think she just some other vigilante..."

"Which is good because we don't need another vigilante running around the city," Oliver replied "But she still needs to be stopped somehow?"

It was Diggle however who noted that Felicity had paused for a moment. "You've found something else in common with the attacks." He said wryly as she pulled up a screen that showed where all the female vigilante's actions had taken place but before she could continue with her train of thought, her phone rang.

As one all Team Arrow looked at it and noted the name flashing on the screen even as she picked it up, "Hi Detective?"

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Standing at the door leading out on to the roof of the precinct, Lance slapped the file he was holding to his file, fuming slightly from the warning he had just received from Lieutenant Pike to stay away from the case. In his mind it kind of solidified his reasons for taking the path he was about to tread.

With that in mind, he opened the door and stepped out onto the roof.

"I see you took me up on Ms Smoak acting as my contact, Detective?" The electronic voice was clear in the night sky and he looked up to see the man in green leather waiting for him. (He also noted sub-consciously that this was another person who continued to refer to him as Detective – but there was no way he was going to even make a half-attempt to correct this particular person!)

"She vouches for you and I've seen myself you're trying to save the city without leaving bodies, are you going to keep to that?" Lance responded as he moved up the steps to stand near the Arrow but deliberately without seeing into his hood.

"And disappoint her!" He replied with an actual note of amusement in his synthesised voice.

"That's what I thought." He walked past him to stare out over the city. "This city is hurting and the police..." He broke for a moment before continuing. "I always thought we didn't need to go outside the law to find justice but in light of recent events, I'm not so sure anymore..."

With that, he dropped the file on the small wall between them. "Barton Mathis, the media calls him the Doll-Maker."

Oliver picked up the file and turned away to open it, quickly noting the dates. "This is from six years ago."

"It's my own personal file." Lance turned from where he was staring out over the city again. "With everything that's going on, no-one knows that he's escaped. You said were trying another way, so because of her trust in you, I am too."

"I'll be sure to tell her that." Oliver replied as he tucked the file inside his jacket.

"Just keep her safe."

"As much as she will let me," With that he fired an arrow and disappeared.

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_Yes, I know - there's a lot of the actual episode in this one - there's a lot of changes as well if you look closely. It just happened that way and Lance wanted to have a say in this. (And I did change quite a bit of that roof-top conversation but kept his most important statement!)_

_Sometimes the differences come in the unspoken words, just to say! (Plus the fact, I like Lance in S2 and really don't like LL at all!)_

_Coming tomorrow: _**Chapter 10 – Not A Doll Person**

_This will not be a regular thing but I can see just how much I can AAA this episode, of course I may drop a lot of a particular scene to do with LL but we'll see what happens. I may even amalgamate several episodes ahead but I'll see what the muse feels like when I get there._

_Once again I look forward to your reviews, and request you leave one for Wizard's View as well ;op_


	10. AAA Chapter 10

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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**Chapter 10 – Not A Doll Person**

Oliver couldn't stop himself from smiling as Felicity literally grabbed the file he had brought with him out of his hands before he had even stepped of the last step into the lair. He barely had time enough to kiss her on the forehead before she danced across the floor to her computers. As he watched her, Diggle moved to his side. "Lance is not taking this well, I take it."

"He's feels responsible having put him away the first time." Oliver replied as he took his gloves off. "And he trusts us to help him."

"With our girl on the job, I'm sure that we will." Diggle moved over to the large computer screen and started reading the file documents as they came on line. Fifteen minutes later, Oliver walked from the back of the lair to him. "Did Lance's file give you anything?"

"The last time Mathis was active, he racked up a kill every three days." Diggle replied as he moved several documents across the touch screen.

"That's gives us two days to catch him, if... when it happens." Oliver clenched his fist and hit the top of the screen slightly.

"The only thing is, there's nothing here so far to link them from what I can see." Diggle moved the girls' pictures. "All I've got is that they are young and the rough same age."

Felicity finished putting the documents in the computer and folded her arms around her waist as she looked at the screen in front of her. "I've always thought that porcelain dolls were creepy but these, these are so proving I am not a doll person."

Oliver moved to her side, slipping his arm around her waist, holding her to his side as Diggle joined them to look at the screens. "Mathis has got no family and there's no connection that I can see."

"But he does have a lawyer." Oliver said suddenly. "Felicity please ring Lance and see if he can get a meeting with him tonight."

Several hours later, he stormed back into the lair. "Lance got called away. A body was found an hour ago. Can it give us any forensics we can use?"

"CSI did a complete work-up but they sent it out to a private lab for analysis." Diggle replied as he moved so that Oliver could take his place at Felicity's side. "But there's a problem."

Oliver rested his hand on her shoulder,"Felicity?"

"Their servers are off-line. Apparently someone hacked too many police related systems last year." She replied frustrated as she again attempted to break-in.

"Then we do it like we did the Merlyn job." Oliver squeezed Felicity's shoulder as she groaned, catching the "Oh god, not Tarzan again!"...as he smiled even with the seriousness of the situation.

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The following day, Diggle watched in amusement as Oliver and Felicity did their best to stare each other down following her decision to be bait to catch Barton Mathis.

The previous evening had gone well; (after a slight argument about whether or not Felicity needed to be there in person, [giving Oliver a rare win to Diggle's never-ending amusement]) Lance and Oliver had slipped quietly into the private lab and even seeing her do her magic with the computers remotely had left the police officer with a sense of bemusement and wonder.

(Oliver had been so fluffed up with pride Diggle was almost glad that the current stand-off was happening if only to bring him down a couple of pegs).

"Oliver..." Felicity sighed, reaching up to cup his cheek for a moment, blue eyes blazing with her belief that she was in the right. "If you think about it, I'm the only option that we have."

He grabbed her by the hips, pulling her closer as he leant down to rest his forehead against hers. "Do you promise to follow every order we give you."

"Do you really think I would volunteer for something like this if I didn't know that you would be there every step of the way? I'm a genius remember." She sighed as she moved further into his embrace, her arms going round his neck as his snaked their way around her waist and lifted her off the ground so that they were now at eye-level.

Diggle chose that moment to fake-cough, covering his smile with his hand. "I take it that the decision has been made then."

"Call Lance, tell him we have a plan." Oliver sighed as Felicity rested her head on his shoulder, still being held in the air in his embrace, "...And a volunteer."

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Oliver burst into the lair and literally pulled Felicity off the med-bench into his arms. The last few hours had been torturous for him, watching as she had entered store after store as they wait for Mathis to make his move and then having to leave her, knowing that she had been hurt had almost killed him.

It didn't help that the conversation with Lance just before it had all kicked off kept going round his head.

_Flashback_

_Lance had followed Felicity out of the last shop. "Just for the record, I'm not a huge fan of dangling innocent girls in front of psychopaths like meat."_

_Oliver had replied, his eyes never leaving the blonde form below. "She volunteered."_

"_Wow, she really must believe in you."_

"_She's more than she seems, Detective."The note of pride in his voice was difficult to hide even with the synthesiser. "Don't let her fragile looks fool you."_

"_SHE would like to remind you both that SHE can hear everything you're saying." Felicity had reminded them just before she had been grabbed._

_End flashback_

"Oliver, it's alright. Digg said I don't even have a concussion." Felicity buried her face into his neck, wrapping her arms around his waist to silently reassure him. "Did you get him?"

"Lance's call for back-up received too quick a response. It gave him time to escape." Oliver replied as he placed her back on the bench and then cupped her face, looking into her eyes, "Digg?"

"She'll be fine, Oliver, we just need to make sure she doesn't over do thing for the next couple of days to be safe." He replied from where he stood on the other side of the table. "What about Lance?"

"He's been set free but warned not to do it again." Oliver wrapped his arms around Felicity's waist again and she rested her head on his shoulder. "We've broken Mathis' pattern, unfortunately now all we can do is wait."

"Oh god, if there is one thing you hate doing, it's waiting." Felicity murmured against his neck.

"Felicity!" Oliver exclaimed even as Diggle burst into laughter.

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Felicity leant against Oliver's side, running her hand almost absently over his side as if unconsciously checking for wounds, even though she knew that there were none. "I'm glad that the Detective and..." She coughed slightly as she came to Laurel's name, much to the continuing amusement of Oliver and Diggle and she slapped both of them. "...Are safe but this woman in black leather...?"

"The way she keeps following you around and helping you out, there's something wrong about this woman." Diggle turned his head to one side as he caught a strange look cross Felicity's face.

"We've got to find her." Oliver said firmly as Felicity straightened slightly.

"To find her or to send her a thank you note?" She asked, poking him in the side.

"That depends..." He replied as he caught her hand to stop her from doing it again..

"On what?" She asked just as she poked him with her other hand.

"On whose side she's on." He replied as he caught her other hand and pulled them to him.

"Yeah, well, interesting though there," She responded even as she tried to pull them free,

"Why?" Diggle asked even as he did his best to hide his smile at their somewhat childish actions.

"Oliver's not the only common factor in the mysterious woman's appearances because I have to tell you, from what Oliver said, she didn't really need to kill Mathis or does this remind you of the behaviour of a certain person we both know when he returned to civilisation."

With that they both looked at Oliver, who merely raised an eyebrow at them in reply. "You think someone else is here from the Island."

"No Oliver." Felicity replied as she rested her hands on his chest. "I'm sure that someone else is here from the Island."

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_And I can manage a cliff hanger after all! Stunned and shocked I am at that but then again this is Felicity the Amazon princess!_

_(Can anyone tell I'm a little biased to my own character! LOL)_

_That's it for this week folks! I hope you enjoy, please review!_

_And while you think about it, if you are a regular reviewer and the three/four of you know who you are, please leave one for Wizard's View as well ;op_


	11. AAA Chapter 11

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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**Chapter 11 – Crucible Remade**

Felicity sat at her computers, alone for once in the lair. Oliver and Diggle had gone out to seek information on the military guns that had suddenly started to appear on the streets of the Glades while she had chosen to see what she could find on line.

The three of them were still reeling slightly from her firm opinion that there was someone else from the island in the Starling City – and she was actually feeling slightly guilty that she had not revealed everything she was thinking about the female vigilante or the fact that she was sure she knew who it was.

She was also slightly mad with her other half as well. Having to wipe the blood from his chin after hearing the gunshots over her hidden com channel and defending him to the... person she even refused to mention in her own private thoughts had not gone down well with her.

Even as that thought went through her mind, the sound of the lair door opening had her swinging round in her chair. Oliver moved swiftly down the steps and across the floor, pulling her out of her chair and into his arms, lifting her so that he could bury his head in the crook of her neck.

And just like that, all anger disappeared from her thoughts as she wrapped her arms around him, running one hand through his short hair to soothe him.

When she was sure that he was calm once more, she drew back as much as she could (considering Oliver was literally holding her off the ground) and raised his head so that she could look into his pained blue eyes.

"Oh Oliver," as she rested her forehead against his, feeling his arms actually tighten around her. "She survived the Queen's Gambit somehow, didn't she? I did meet her on the island."

As he nodded, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face against his neck.

"Sara Lance is alive and ghost-protecting her family."

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Diggle stood by his table, running inventory over his equipment while he watched his two team-mates on the other side of the room. Both were leaning against the wall of the lair, Felicity with her head Oliver's shoulder, her hand in his while Oliver rested his head on her's as he ran his fingers over the back of the hand he held.

The week behind them had almost literally turned into one of the weeks from hell albeit with moments of pure Olicity (not that he was ever going to admit that he actually had a ship name for them – instinct told him it would not go down well!) and no-one had died, although Roy's young friend, Sin had come close to proving that wrong, and they had retrieved the guns.

Even now he could see the pair standing at Felicity's computers as she teased him about the tracker in the missing guns.

"_Guess which company designs the tracking system the army uses – I'll give you a hint – your CEO, always late." The playful look in her eyes as she waved her hand and poked him in the chest earned her a smile from the CEO in question as he leant down to kiss her after softly responding, "Nice!" to her gentle teasing._

He himself was still reeling from the conversation he had held with his ex-wife. He was almost sure that they had both gone out of their way to reassure each other that they were single and he wasn't actually sure how he felt about that. The fact that he was still hurting from his attempt to have a relationship with Carly and their break-up was not helping the situation either.

His attention was suddenly caught from by a beeping sound coming from one of Felicity's computers and he turned to find the cameras for Verdant on the screen, focusing on a slender figure standing in the middle of the empty dance floor.

"Guys, we have a visitor." The couple were next to him faster than even he had expected. "And something tells me it's our mysterious vigilante known as the Canary, aka Sara Lance."

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Felicity followed Oliver up the steps into the club, highly glad that she had actually chosen to wear her flats that day. "She's not going to remember me, Oliver, you know that."

"You're the only person who might get through to her." Oliver was being stubborn to the extreme. "You always could back then."

"Considering that I remember her trying to break my ribs when we first met, that statement doesn't reassure me much, archer-boy!" She winced as she said that as she had been trying to break herself of the habit. "This is not going to go well."

Stopping at the top of the stairs before opening the door, he pulled her to him, arms around her waist. "Felicity..." He sighed, lowering his forehead to her's. "Please." Feeling her sigh in resignation, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips, opened the door leading out to the club and led her out with his arm around her waist.

"Sara."

"Ollie." The low female voice came from the shadows before she emerged in the beam of light coming in from one of the overhead windows, a strange look on her face as she took in Felicity standing next to him. "Why do I get the feeling that I should know you?"

"Because you do," Felicity replied simply as she folded her arms, Oliver's arm still around her waist. "I had different colour hair back then."

Sara's eyes opened wide, "The Amazon!"

"One of them," Her reply was sarcastic enough to earn her a slight jab in her side from her currently silent partner. "Why are you here, Sara?"

She was silent for a moment and then she literally exploded into speech (almost matching Felicity on one of her best days for rambling). "You have no idea how dangerous it would be for Dad and Laurel to know that I am alive, it's not like I can just pop up out of the blue and tell them that I alive, you've got no idea of the sort of things that I have done and seen since I was on the island and I really don't want to get into it. I know I said that I would tell them at the hospital but I just can't Ollie, it would be too dangerous."

"She already said that." Felicity murmured to no-one in particular, even as she winced again at hearing her call Oliver 'Ollie'. (She was of the firm opinion that 'Ollie had died the day the Queen's Gambit went down and only his younger sister had the right and privilege to call him by it.)

"And apparently both the Lance sisters seem to focus on you when there are other people with you!" She continued with a note of hostility in her voice to Oliver, a fact that he noted and had him wincing even as she raised her hand to the other blonde. "Sara, shut up! What do you want?"

Sara, however was not slow to notice that Oliver was letting his blonde companion take the lead and swiftly realised that the rumour about her being his girlfriend was actually real. The fact that she was also beginning to gain her memories of being on the island with the other woman also played into it. "I need somewhere to stay."

Felicity closed her eyes for a moment and then looked up into Oliver's slightly pleading eyes, so holding onto the fact that she had actually come to like the other woman when they were on the island, she made her decision.

Somehow, she knew she was going to regret it but she made the offer any way. "You can stay with me."

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_Well I had intended to cover both of the junior Ms Lance's eps in this chapter but once I started writing it, the muse had other ideas - apparently there was a little too much senior Ms Lance for their liking and this is the result._

_I also wanted to make it clear why there is a difference in the way our Amazon reacts to the junior compared to the way she reacts to the senior Lance._

_Look forward to hearing what you have to say as always ;op_


	12. AAA Chapter 12

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Please see my A/N below if you want an author's ramble.

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**Chapter 12 - Reconnected Assassin**

Rubbing a towel through her hair as she entered the kitchen, Sara Lance found her unexpected hostess talking to their mutual friend over the phone.

"Oliver, don't be so ridiculous!" She exclaimed, even as she grinned to herself. "I'm quite sure that a trained warrior and an Amazon albeit powerless but also still well trained, can look after themselves. I'll see you in there in an hour. Oliver..." She listened to whatever he was saying and shook her head. "Oliver, enough, we'll see you when you get there. Just don't forget the coffee."

She ended the call and swung round, jumping slightly on seeing the other woman in the doorway. "Sara."

"Felicity..." She put her towel down and sat down on a breakfast stool. "I... I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything." Felicity replied simply as she leant back against a counter. "Oliver and Diggle will be here to pick me up on their way from work in an hour. I think he wants to speak to you again."

Sara immediately begins shaking her head. "I can't do it; I can't see them, not after all that I have done. They would never understand. You don't understand."

"Don't I?" Felicity replied softly, before folding her arms and just looked at her silently, an act that actually made the trained assassin shiver from the memories that were still making their way into her consciousness. It was not the first time she had been on the end of one of the Amazon's silent looks of disapproval and being hit with that memory at that same time made the effect now even more piercing to the soul then it had been then.

"No, I won't do it." Sara shook her head.

Felicity sighed. "They don't actually need to know any of that; they just need to know that you are alive." She held up her hand as Sara went to speak again. "I'm not going to argue with you, Sara, I understand your reasons but then again, I expect nothing else from a Lance but I'm telling you now, your father at least deserves to know you are alive even if you don't want to tell..."

Sara buried her face in her hands, choking slightly on a laugh as the other woman simply refused to say her sister's name. "Please Felicity."

Before she could reply this, glass windows suddenly broke around them.

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Which was why an hour later, Sara watched in stunned disbelief as the perpetually cool-headed Oliver Queen raced down the stairs of his lair, across the floor to pull Felicity out of her chair, checked her over before pulling her into his arms and burying his face into her hair. "Thank your gods!"

She was stunned even more by how Felicity herself just allowed him to do that, merely burying her arms around his shoulders to hold him to her, murmuring in his ear words meant only for him but her sharpened hearing caught something.

"I told you, Oliver, there is nothing in this world that can even keep us apart." She pressed a kiss to the tip of his ear, and then pulled back so that she could look him in the eyes, running her hand through his hair. "Oliver, there something that you need to know and you're not going to like it."

Placing her back on the floor, he placed a finger on her lips silencing her for a moment before turning to the watching Sara and saying a tone that she had never heard from him, even when she knew him as Ollie (someone he clearly no longer was). "Thank you Sara."

She shook her head, trying to wave him off and all three members of Team Arrow did not fail to notice the slight look of guilt that crossed her face. "Don't, please don't, not when it's my fault."

Oliver immediately looked back at Felicity who rested her hand on his chest. "He was dressed like Merlyn, and it was clear that he was there for Sara. His attacks were to capture, not kill."

"What are you saying?"

There was a slight silence that was suddenly filled by Felicity, not Sara. "He was dressed like Malcolm Merlyn, Oliver; and I think..." She cast a look at Sara for a moment, eyebrow raised. "I think he was a member of the League of Assassins..." She let silence fall for a moment before continuing. "...As is Sara."

Sara swung round in stunned astonishment as Diggle spoke next. "But the League of Assassins' an urban myth, I heard about it from a tribal leader in Afghanistan and no-one was smoking what he was selling."

Felicity actually cleared her throat at that, mock-coughing wryly. "According to most people, so are Amazons, yet here I am." Her sharp gaze then fastened on the pale blonde opposite them. "And the only reason I can think for them to be here is that someone broke their cardinal rule and has left them, but not in their preferred way."

Sara literally shrank backwards, fearful gaze going from her to Oliver, Diggle and then back to Felicity once more. "How can you know this, no-one outside the order is supposed to know this?"

Surprisingly, it was Diggle that answered for them. "Something tells me that urban legends tend to know about other urban legends."

"This is why no-one has heard from you in the last four years." Oliver said in a slightly stunned and angry voice (Which had Felicity running her hand over his heart to silently calm him). "This is why you won't tell your family you're here."

"They rescued me, trained me, made me what I am, Ollie," She noted Felicity's silent wince at the use of his old nickname and cast a quick silent look of apology at her. "I'm a murderer, Ollie I killed a man and left him to be found by his children, so do you really think that my family will be happy to see me?"

Before anyone could answer, Oliver's phone pinged and for the first time since entering the lair, he released Felicity to read the message he had just received. She read the screen over his shoulder and ran her hand over his shoulder. "Go to Iron Heights and see your mother. I have something from the attack that may help us track this..." She looked at Sara who answered "Al-Owal," "When you return."

Oliver nodded his eyes dark with residual anger but leans down to snatch a kiss from her before leaving.

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"Felicity..." Sara moved to her side. "I'm sorry, about bringing all this into your life."

Felicity just smiled. "You're not the first person to join the wrong club, Sara..." Smiling wryly in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, she then continued. "And it took a year for me to get out of that gym membership."

The other blonde couldn't help herself but laugh slightly. "Can I say that I am glad that he, you found each other again." She looked down for a moment. "And can I say... I think I'm glad for me too."

Felicity immediately turned from the machine she was working on to look at her, casting a quick look at Diggle over her shoulder. "Why?"

"Because I just now remembered how good you were for him on the island." Sara said bluntly. "And because you've just accepted me for who I am, what I've done since then and you never judged me for getting on the Gambit with him in the first place."

"I didn't know either of you then or the circumstances that led to it, so why would I?" Felicity replied even as she read the results that had just come out. Her head turned as she heard the familiar sound of Oliver's footsteps coming down the stairs even as Sara continued speaking.

"I'm glad that he has you and Diggle, before the island he was never very good at picking his friends." Sara said softly as she watched Felicity walk into Oliver's arms to greet him back. "I'm so glad that's clearly changed."

Diggle turned from the work he was doing, nodding to Sara (he had realised that the conversation between the two women had been in some way directed at him as well) and was not surprised to see his two partners greeting each other. He was also not slow to notice that Oliver was even tenser than he had been before leaving but just having Felicity near him was easing it.

In fact it made him sure enough to ask "How did it go with your mother?"

"It didn't go well." Oliver smiled grimly down at the woman in his arms (but he was also smiling at the conversation he had overheard as he came back into the lair) and ran a finger over her cheek. "Have you found me someone to hit yet?"

"Somehow I knew that would be the first thing you asked on your return." Felicity immediately pulled him with her to her computers and showed him her findings. "My guess is I've found a League of Assassin's lair."

Oliver immediately moved to the display case and pulled out his bow as Sara followed him. "He will kill you."

"Like you, I'm not that easy to get rid of." Oliver replied firmly, returning her hard stare.

"Listen to me, Ollie, it's my fight."

"He made it my fight when he came into Felicity's home and threatened somebody that I care about; especially when he threatened her." Oliver replied as he stared her down before he walked away from her to change.

Felicity swiftly moved to Sara's side and laid her hand on her should. "Sara, he meant both of us, just so you know."

"I know." Sara replied softly, covering her hand in silent thanks and continuing, "But you're the love of his life and therefore even more important to him." before leaving to change herself.

AAA-AAA-AAA

"That could have gone so much better." Felicity murmured as she rested her head on Oliver's shoulder. "But at least Detective Lance now knows that Sara is alive and is out there somewhere."

He wrapped his arms around her and settled further back into the sofa in his bedroom in the Queen Mansion. He had refused to allow her to return to her home until the damage done to her home had been fixed and she had been able to upgrade the security measures she had on the house. (And Thea was staying with that Roy Harper kid again – as much as he hated it!)

He had finally gotten round to telling about all that had happened with his mother and Laurel (something that had actually managed to amuse him, considering all the seriousness of the situation as he had managed to do it without actually mentioning the elder Lance sister's name!)

"He did understand that it was absolutely necessary not to let either of the other half of the family know that she was alive, didn't he?" She sat up abruptly to look at him, her blues eyes dark with alarm at the thought that either he or the girl she was now willing to claim as a friend could be in danger.

Oliver immediately pulled her back down, tightening his hold around her slender frame, "Felicity."

It was all he needed to say to make her relax once again.

After they had been quiet for a while, content just to be in each other company without Arrow duties for once, Oliver suddenly spoke. "I told Diggle he was right about the past always catching up with you."

"I take it you also told him that you were not always on the island, as everyone thinks." She asked as she played with a loose strand she had found on his shirt.

"How the... I'm going to regret this but how are you so sure of that?" He asked as he stilled her hand.

"There's only one place you could have got that tattoo on your chest, Oliver and it was most definitely not on an island in the middle of the Chinese Ocean." She said simply as she freed her hand and laid over the said tattoo. "And did you really think I wouldn't have googled a symbol that wasn't on your body in such a prominent place?"

"I said I was going to regret it." He replied as he pulled her on top and tickled her sides, making her laugh before they fell silent again, Felicity laying her head on his chest over his heart. "But at least..."

"Yes, at least we know now."

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_There we go, an extra long chapter for this weekend - and even as I finish this, I'm going to put in an interlude chapter, not something I using do but a certain elder sister wants to say something and can't say in our regular line-up!_

_So you may be lucky and get two chapters this weekend!_

_Next week's chapter is going to be difficult as it is, yes, you know it, the dreaded Russia chapter!_

_So please give me extra incentive and not only review this chapter but put one up for Wizard's View as well - extra please._

_Look forward to hearing from you ;op _

_(And to see if you're reading these things, do you prefer an A/N at the top or the bottom of the chapter?)_


	13. AAA Chapter 13

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

_A/N - As I strongly believe, no-one is actually reading my A/N at the bottom of the chapters (I would have more reviews for Wizard's View if you were - hint,hint!) from now on they will go here._

_So just a few words from big sister (delibrately not named till she appears in the main story line) coming up._

_Reviews as always much welcomed and we'll meet again in Russia ;op_

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**Chapter 13 – Interlude**

"A member of the League attacked my sister!"

The words rang out clearly in the sudden silence that befell the room.

"I did not know that..." The dark-haired assassin immediately spoke but halted as the elder of the two Amazons present held up her hand in such an imperious manner, she could do no other than to fall back into silence.

"Was not the League informed that there was an Amazon present in the City – at my insistence?"

Nyssa al Ghul could do nothing but nod silently in reply.

"Was I not given assurance that she would be safe as per the accords between the League and the Amazon people?"

Nyssa merely nodded once more in response.

"Sister, the assassin concerned is dead, surely..." Felicity said softly as she moved to her elder sister's side and took her hand.

"No, the agreement between our people has been broken and restitution must be sought and given, it is the only honourable thing to do, although it is clear that your father truly does walk further down a distant path from that honour, Nyssa al Ghul, even if you do not."

Nyssa once again remained silent for she could not deny the truth of the elder Amazon's words.

"Be at peace, Nyssa, it was your father that gave his word and it will be from him that restitution will be sought." She then turned her full focus to her younger sister who narrowed her eyes immediately as she sensed that her sister's fury was about to be unleashed on her.

"And why did you not contact me to tell me of this incident as soon as it happened!"

"And just how was I supposed to do that, sister of mine." Felicity's voice grew slowly louder and behind her, Team Arrow both full and associate members all winced in anticipation of the storm that was about to be unleashed. "Tell me exactly how am I supposed to keep you updated when I have absolutely no way in Hades of knowing where you are when you are on one of your 'missions' with no way of contacting you – especially when mother insisted that I was not to have any form of Amazonian communication equipment with me when I came to the outer world. When she deliberately ensured that the telepathic bond that we have always had was taken from to make sure I could not have contact with you."

Oliver rose to his feet at that statement, sensing the heart-felt anguish that she normally tried to keep to herself and him entering her voice. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back to rest against his chest and murmured softly in her ear. "It's not your sister's fault, my love, remember that."

She relaxed slightly, turning in his hold and resting her head against his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "It just hurts so badly, Oliver."

Watching them, the sorrow on the elder sister's face was almost overwhelming. "I have no idea whether my mother and sister will ever be able to recover from all that happened since her kidnapping." She murmured aloud to no-one in particular.

"Time will help." Diggle however replied as he stepped up to her side, "That, and your mother actually apologising."

"And that may be the most difficult thing of all to achieve. In all my life, I have never known our mother to apologise to anyone."

"It's never too late to learn." Diggle replied assuredly before turning to his two team-mates. "Don't you think it's time we got back to our regular schedule, you two?"

"Yes sir, Digg sir!" The couple snapped off at exactly in the same time and rhythm.

"You're funny, you two, real funny!" He shot back as he returned to his seat even as Roy murmured. "What makes you think they've done that to him before!" earning himself a hit on the back of the head from both Diggle and Sara.

As every member returned to their former seating places, Felicity and Oliver looked at each other for a moment and then nodded. She then turned and looked at everyone, her gaze ending on Diggle where he sat next to Lyla.

Catching it, he groaned as his mind caught up with the memory road they were taking. "Russia."

She nodded; winding her fingers through Oliver's and replied just as simply.

"Russia."

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_Coming next week: AAA in Russia_


	14. AAA Chapter 14

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

I've changed my mind, the A/N is going back to the bottom.

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Chapter 14 – The Trouble with Russians

Hearing the beeping sound on her tablet, Felicity cast a quick look down the corridor and then tapped the screen, bringing up the camera showing the alley near Verdant and the lair. She then watched as red-hooded Roy Harper walked almost stealthily up to the tree she and Oliver had agreed on as best positioned and jammed one of Oliver's small arrows into the gap between the bricks.

"And just what have you discovered Mr Harper." She murmured to herself, "Or should I say, what have you been snooping about to discover?" She then frowned suddenly. "And why do I have the sudden feeling that you are going to get Oliver shot at... again!"

Her frown changed suddenly as she realised that she now had the perfect excuse to break into Oliver's unwanted meeting with a certain Ms Rochev – who somehow couldn't understand that she was not a partner in QC but merely a major shareholder (and most definitely did not have the right to insist that Oliver spend all his time on working for QC – just because she didn't have a personal life, didn't give her the right to insist everyone else couldn't have one either!)

Of course, the fact that she, Felicity, was his personal life had absolutely nothing to do with her reasoning. (She had actually said that out loud the previous week and Diggle had snorted in muted laughter.)

Mentally rubbing her hands together, Felicity made her way to the elevator to save the more troublesome member of their partnership from the irritating unwanted interloper to his company. (And she really needed to get round to doing that deep search because there had to be a real good reason as to why she was on the List).

Mentally flipping a coin over which persona she was going to show, (especially with the way Isabel was treating Oliver as a five year old child) Felicity stepped into the open doorway and she raised her hand to catch his attention. At his slight raised hand to wait, she raised an eyebrow.

When her second attempt to get his attention was talked over by Isabel and another raised hand from Oliver, Felicity was becoming decidedly annoyed. She took a deep breath and went with it. "Oliver!"

The look of annoyance that both of them sent her actually turned her annoyed key off and turned her amused key on.

"As much as I hate..." The hesitation in her voice clearly expressed how much she did not mean that (and Oliver hid a slight smirk behind Isabel's back that only Felicity caught) "...to interrupt your conversation, I need to talk to you about your plans for this evening..." Oliver raised an eyebrow at that (as far as he had been aware, they had merely been going to train that day) "...with Mr Harper."

Oliver's expression changed at that and he rose to his feet. "You'll have to excuse me, Isabel."

"Where are you going?" She stepped into his way as he started to move towards Felicity but before he could respond, Felicity stepped forward.

"Ms Rochev, do you need to be reminded that you are merely a major shareholder in QC...oops! I think I just did." She raised her hand to her mouth in mock self-reprimand and before she could say anything else, Oliver grabbed her hand and pulled her after him out of the offices (whether for Isabel's protection or the love of his life, only he knew).

"Felicity!" The laughter in his voice however was only clear to her; especially as the moment he had pulled her around the corner out of sight, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

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Felicity jumped slightly as her phone rang beside her (She was on edge from the sudden breakdown of communications with Diggle as it was and the lack of information from the last member of their team). Looking down, she found Detective Lance's picture on the screen and raising an eyebrow, she turned to look at Oliver as he came down the stairs towards her. "Detective, what can I do for you today?"

"The Harper kid... please tell me that he's not genuinely working for him?" There was a pained note in Lance's voice.

"As much as I would love to do that, I really can't." Felicity replied as she reached out to brush Oliver's cheek with her fingers in lieu of kissing him on his return. "The Arrow felt it was the only way of stopping him from becoming a vigilante himself."

"And tonight's... escapade?"

"I will have the Arrow speak to him." There was such a note in her voice that both men shuddered slightly. "Good night Detective, keep safe."

As soon as she put her phone down, she spun into Oliver's arms and kissed him. "I take it everything went well then, even with Roy still being there near the end."

"As well as can be expected," He replied as he kissed her again and then looked around the lair. "Diggle not back yet."

"No and he went dark on me without warning." She replied as she stepped away. "Go get changed, I'll update you on some of the things I found out while you two were out and about."

Two hours later, as they watched a news article on the new particle accelerator that S.T.A.R Laboratories were working on, (Oliver's hand resting on Felicity's shoulder and her hand resting on his), Diggle returned to the lair.

Sharing a concerned look, both turned to look at him even as Oliver spoke, "Where'd you go? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah..." Diggle replied even as he pulled out his weapons' case. "Just need a few personal days."

"What's going on?" Oliver folded his arms as he shared another glance with Felicity.

"I have to go help a friend." Diggle turned to look at the couple catching the unspoken "Who?" from both of them. "Lyla Michaels."

Felicity reached for Oliver's hand and curled her fingers into his even as she clarified who their friend was speaking of, "His spy girlfriend who works for A.R.G.U.S."

"She went to Russia... looking for Deadshot... for me and now she's missing."

"Felicity, I think it's time we visited our Queen Consolidated facility in Russia." Oliver said almost without thinking and she squeezed his hand in return, responding "Of course" as if it didn't need to be said.

Diggle stepped towards them. "Oliver, what are you doing?"

"I'm..." A poke in his side had him amending his statement. "We're just helping a friend."

"I can't ask you to do that."

Before anymore of the man posturing could go on, Felicity interceded, rolling her eyes. "Gentlemen, we have work to do if we're going to Russia, so move it!"

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"I still cannot believe that you didn't tell her where to go, Oliver." Felicity literally growled in his ear, glaring through the seats at the back of Isabel Rochev's head. "This jet has nothing to do with Queen Consolidated and the fact that I am both your girlfriend/executive assistant also has nothing to do with it either, and I'm telling you now, if she tries to hijack the program I set together to ensure that we can do everything we can to help Digg, she is not going to like what I do to make her pay, which I may do anyway just for the fun I would get come to think about it..."

Before her ramble could go any further, Oliver quickly silenced her with a kiss. "Felicity, it will be alright, I promise John and I promise you." Kissing her once more, he then suddenly said. "I don't want you coming with us to meet Anatoli the first time, I have my reasons..."

This time, it was Felicity that silenced him with a kiss. "And I understand."

A day later, she found herself regretting being that understanding as she stared at the bag of drugs the Bratva chief had sent to their hotel suite, hugging her tablet like a teddy-bear. "Now that is a lot of drugs." She shook her head, knowing that it was necessary, no matter how much she disliked it and got to business.

She put her tablet down and picked up Diggle's coat she had hidden a tracker on. "You'll need to be wearing this when they take you, the guards will take it but that's the point." He nodded as she picked up her tablet again and pulled up the picture that Anatoli had sent them. "This is Anatoli's man on the inside."

When she slammed the tablet down, the two men realised just how upset she was with everything that was going on. Oliver immediately went to her, pulling into his arms as she looked up at him and then at Diggle. "Are we sure that this is the best plan we can come up, I mean I know that... Digg, is there something you haven't told us about Lyla?"

Diggle stepped towards them. "She was my wife, Felicity; we met in Afghanistan and when we couldn't make it work without a war to fight, she joined A.R.G.U.S and I went on my third tour. I can't leave here without her, Felicity, I just can't. You can understand that, can't you?" He looked from her to Oliver and back.

There was nothing that she could say to that, it was so true. Instead as Oliver's phone beeped a two-minute warning and he moved forward to shake Diggle's hand, she took the scarf she had over her arm and moved round the table to drape it around his neck. Using the ends to pull him down to her height, she kissed his cheek. "Good luck John."

Moving back into Oliver's arms, she rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the third member walk out of their suite and into definite trouble. Barely half an hour later, a half hour in which Oliver had allowed Felicity to bully him into dressing correctly for the meetings they were due to attend that day just as a way to keep her distracted from what was happening with Diggle, he answered the phone and turned to pull her into his side.

"The clock's running."

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_Yes I know this should have been up yesterday but what with the thunderstorms, lightning strikes and an unexpected invite to a barbque, just didn't happen!_

_This is just the first part, coming your way shortly CH 15: From Russia With Love ;op_


	15. AAA Chapter 15

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

The A/N has returned to live below the chapter, please read there!

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**Chapter 15 – From Russia With Love**

Felicity stood staring out of the window of their suite in the direction of the prison, her coat, hat and gloves on the table behind her, arms wrapped around her waist. No matter what her brain told her, that Diggle was capable of looking after himself, her heart could not help but worry.

From across the room where he had been watching her, Oliver quickly caught her changing mood and swiftly moved to her side, wrapping his arms beneath hers and pulling her to his chest, rested his chin on her shoulder. "He'll be fine, Felicity."

"You know I'm not going to stop worrying until we're all on the plane going home, Oliver." She replied, leaning the side of her head against his. "I suppose that we need to get going on our part of the plan as well."

He turned her in his arms and pushed her hair back out of her face. "Anatoli's here, I want you to meet him, see if he remembers you."

She sighed leaning her forehead against his chest. "Oliver..."

Before he could speak however, another voice exclaimed her name. "счастье ( pronounced schast'ye)"

"Hello Anatoli." She moved slightly away from Oliver and held out her hand to the Russian approaching them. To Oliver's surprise, he took it and bowed over it, kissing it in the old imperial way clearly not as long gone as certain members of the establishment hoped it would be. "Your help for our friend is appreciated."

"I could do no less for the man that saved my life." He replied, releasing her hand at the subtle warning in Oliver's eyes. "Or for the lady that clearly now owns him once more."

"A strange way of putting it," Oliver murmured as he unconsciously drew Felicity backwards slightly. "Don't we need to be going?"

"If you want to stand any chance of this plan being a success," Anatoli replied as he watched his old friend help the girl into her coat, even going as far as to place her hat on her head – enjoying the fact that even when they were being serious they could find a moment to laugh together.

He nodded to himself now convinced of his feelings about the young American; this was an Oliver that was genuinely more dangerous that the man he had known before. This was an Oliver who had something to fight for and when a man fights for a cause from the heart, he is sometimes more dangerous that a man who fights for a cause from the mind.

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Felicity looked out of the car window at the factory that they were approaching and turned to look at Oliver for a moment. "Why is it, Oliver Jonas Queen, no matter where we go, we always somehow end up at a factory once owned by Queen Consolidated?"

Oliver couldn't help himself but laugh, raising her hand to his lips to kiss. The car came to a halt and Anatoli stepped out of the driver's seat, leaving them in the car. Still holding her hand, Oliver turned to Felicity. "Felicity..."

"I know." She replied softly, placing a finger on his lips. "This is one of those times when I have to do exactly as you tell me and I will." She leant her head to the side. "Do you think Digg's okay?"

"I'm sure he's doing fine." He replied turning to get out of the car while she waited for him to come round and open the door for her (something he and Diggle had insisted on while they were on this trip). He helped her out of the car and then stood at her side, watching as she played with her phone, knowing that it was the only reason she was staying so calm.

He was also not surprised when she asked again if Diggle was alright. He rested his hand on her shoulder, the only physical sign of reassurance he would give under their current circumstances and murmured. "I'm sure he's as fine as he was when you asked the same questions five minutes ago."

The pair of them looked into each other's eyes, the only way they could say what they really wanted to say at that moment and he squeezed her shoulder again as Anatoli stepped forward. "Here they come, they sell us police car cheap."

From her place beside the car, Felicity watched in almost horror as things suddenly seemed to go wrong after the money was handed over. She cast a quick look at him as he sighed suddenly and somehow, grew taller and even steelier.

In that moment, she knew that the man she loved was calling on the persona that had made him the successful Bratva captain that he had been and in some way, still was. The look of fear that had crossed the other man's face as Oliver had continued to speak had in some ways alleviated some of the fear she herself had been feeling.

She however could not stop her sense of curiosity at what he had actually said. "Oliver, what did you say?"

"Hello?" He replied simply, grinning and winking at her before they got into the car.

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Leaving Oliver behind to have a few quiet words with his friend, Felicity started to walk towards the hotel when she noticed a familiar form entering it before her. Speeding up, she managed to find a position where she could see what she was doing there.

"I need to speak to Oliver Queen but I don't remember his room number." She seemed to slip something across the reception desk to the receptionist. "Perhaps you can help me?"

She drew back just in time to catch Oliver as he was about to enter the hotel, pulling him into her hiding place, "Felicity?"

"Please tell me you know a second route to our room from her?" She asked desperately, holding the lapels of his coat. "The..." she shuddered for a moment before continuing, "...is bribing the receptionist to your hotel room even as we speak?"

"Then it's a good thing I did memorise all the ways in and out then." He took her hands and quickly led her to an elevator normally used by just staff (or for people who did not want their 'companion' to be seen). "It might make more of an impact if you are already there..."

"Oliver?" Felicity asked even as she resisted him pushing her in the elevator.

"She's going to keep trying, sweetheart; we might as well be nice and let her try." With that, he freed her hands and let his now fuming other half disappear, knowing that she was already rambling rude things under her breath, "Now to bait the trap!"

He did not however expect what happened when Isabel followed him to his room. Somehow, much to his astonishment, Oliver found himself caught off-guard when the slender form of Isabel Rochev pushed him against his hotel room door with a bang. He certainly did not expect the door to open and Felicity to be standing there.

Having caught sight of the other woman dressed in a black evening cocktail dress, Felicity had decided to go in quite the opposite direction (and never had she been more glad that she had become friends with Thea Queen) and she had pulled out the white lace nightgown her younger friend had sneaked into her suitcase.

Changing quickly, and in a flash of inspiration, taking off her glasses, she now stood in the doorway with one hand on the edge and the other on her hip, watching as Oliver fell back into the room and away from the brunette.

"Can we help you, Ms Rochev?" She asked in such a sweet tone it was almost poisonous even as she held her hand out for Oliver to take (and he did – immediately wrapping himself behind her – this was one of those times when even he was not ashamed to hide behind Felicity's skirts –what there was of it!) The other woman glared at her and turning on her heels literally stormed away like a little girl having a tantrum.

Closing the door (and clearly locking it), Felicity turned to Oliver; eyebrow raised and hands resting on her hips, "Something tells me that was a massive fail on her part. Have you anything to say?"

"Just one..." He replied pulling her towards him and lowering his lips to hers. "Wow!"

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Twenty-four hours later, Oliver pulled Felicity up into his arms and literally fell into his huge bed in the Queen Mansion with a sigh of relief and her giggles.

"That trip to Moscow was worse than anything James Bond ever went through in any of his movies." Felicity said suddenly as she leant on his chest and looked down into his blue eyes. "I still can't believe Digg let that man go!"

"John Diggle is a man of his word." Oliver replied as he brushed her hair out of her face. "I saw Isabel talking to you earlier, what did she say?"

"Something about things happening in Russia, staying in Russia," Felicity pressed a kiss to his Bratva tattoo before resting her head over his heart. "I just reminded her that our relationship began before even we knew it had."

Oliver smiled at that, it was quite a unique way of referring to their year together on the island and the subsequent memory loss. The smile faded though when she suddenly raised her head and look at him seriously, "Why weren't you surprised that Amanda Waller knew about you and Diggle?"

She raised an eyebrow as he looked back at her in silence, unable in some ways to answer her just then. She merely nodded before lowering her head back down again. "I'll just add them to my watch list then." She murmured almost to herself.

Oliver actually winced at that. Being on Felicity's watch list was not necessarily a good place to be.

"I'm glad your mother persuaded Thea not to give up Roy." She suddenly said out of the blue – another subject prone to making a certain big brother wince. "I wonder why her lawyer hasn't said anything to you about me."

"That may be, as you like to remind me, because you graduated M.I.T top of your class, you're my IT expert as well as my executive assistant and contrary to popular opinion, were my girlfriend (which we need to find a better word for because you're more than a mere girlfriend) long before that and have no criminal record despite people thinking that you..."

For a change it was Felicity that silenced the ramble going on and changed the conversation more conducive to their surroundings.

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_And this is the second chapter, should have been up yesterday but I'm running a day late - please see yesterday's A/N for reasons why! LOL!_

_And why is this? To make sure you review every chapter! ;op_

_(And don't forget to leave one for Wizard's View if you haven't already done so!)_


	16. AAA Chapter 16

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N at bottom of chapter

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**Chapter 16 – Case on High!**

Felicity stood watching the replay of Moira Queen's statement the day of the Undertaking with a sudden sense of foreboding. (She also knew who to blame for her strange mood – and it all came down to her father's side of the family if the dream she had been sent had been anything to go by!)

Standing in the doorway of her office, Oliver watched her as she wrapped her arms around her slender waist and took a step towards her. "Felicity..."

She spun round and gave a half-smile as she realised that he had once again managed to leave his tie for her to finish. He always did that when there was something important going on. ""Oh Oliver..." She sighed as she moved across the room to his side. Finishing the knot, she brushed his shoulders off. "Are you sure...?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Believe me, I want you there but mother's lawyer feels it would be the wrong thing to do and we need someone here to cover the office as well. You know as well me that a certain someone will try something if both of us are gone."

"I'm not so sure that your mother's lawyer is giving any of you straight advice and it wasn't that particular lawyer that was on my mind anyway..." She finished the last part of her sentence with her face buried against his shirt even as Oliver tightened his hold around her waist. "Alright, but that doesn't mean that I won't still be there for you. I managed to hack into the court cameras last night, so I can still see and hear everything going on."

"Felicity!" Oliver could do nothing but laugh at that as he ran a finger over her cheek.

Before he can say anything else, Diggle knocked on the edge of the door. "Thea's waiting for you downstairs, Oliver and I had your car brought round, Felicity. Just try not to break any red lights on the way to the Foundry."

"Yes mother." Felicity murmured sarcastically as she took a step backwards. Looking Oliver over one time, she suddenly sprang back into his arms and kissed him as hard as she could. "Be careful and look after Thea." She pressed a kiss to her cheek. "That's for her."

Oliver ran his fingers down her cheek and then raised her chin to kiss her again before leaving her in their offices, a slight forlorn look on her face.

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Oliver almost ran through the empty Verdant, his thoughts racing,

When his phone had rung during the first recess, he had not expected to find a slightly panicked girlfriend on the other end telling him that Diggle had passed out on returning to the QC offices. (However he had been silently pleased that he had a genuine reason to avoid the request to talk from Laurel – nor had he missed the scowl that had crossed her face at Felicity's name.)

He also did not expect to see the tall form of Diggle curled up on the med-table under a blanket as Felicity raced across the lair into his arms. "Sweetheart, tell me again." He said softly as he brushed back a lock of hair from her face.

"Fe...lic..ity... I told you not to call him." Diggle managed to muster amid his severe trembling.

"Shut up Digg." She shot back at him as she moved back to his side to once more brush away the sweat rolling off him with the cold cloth. "After you sent Diggle back from the court, he came into the office and passed out while arranging a temp bodyguard for you and Thea."

She moved back to his side, resting her hand on his cheek. "Oliver, I took a blood sample while he was down and out and sent it to a friend in the labs. He just called back before you arrived."

The worried look in her blue eyes increased and he wrapped her in his arms as if to share his strength with her. "Oliver, it had trace amounts of vertigo in it."

"I've never used vertigo in my life." Diggle growled through pain-filed tones as he struggled against an attack coursing through his muscled frame.

Felicity reached over and silenced him with a finger on his lips. "You were exposed to it somehow though." She then turned back to Oliver who was looking a little stunned. "Oliver..."

"Vertigo's in play again." He said slowly, "But that would mean..."

Felicity nodded in reply. "The Dollmaker can't have been the only prisoner that escaped Iron Heights after the earthquake." She shot across to her computers and pressed a few buttons. "After he recovered from his overdose, the Count was sent there..."

"And now he's out again." Oliver moved across to one of the stands that contained his small arrows and pulled one out containing a yellow liquid, moved back to her side and pressed it into her hand, curling her fingers over it.

She covered his hand before he took it away. "I know what you're thinking Oliver." She raised her hand to cover his cheek so that he would look into her eyes. "You made the right decision not to kill him, you know that."

"I know and I still feel that was the right choice." He cupped his hand over hers on his cheek, drew it to his lips to kiss and then lowered them down to cover the arrow again. "I made this antidote up the first time Vertigo was on the streets. Give it to Diggle."

She caught his brief look at his watch. "Go Oliver, recess must nearly be over. I'll do everything to find out what I can about how Diggle got the vertigo. This is my area of expertise, now let me prove it." She reached up on tiptoe and pressed a gentle, reassuring kiss to his lips. "Go agapi mou!"

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Before he even knew what was really going on, Oliver found himself back in the lair sooner than he had expected. Thea had raced away from the courtroom after ADA Adam Donner had been taken away – only for the ADA to vanish without a word of warning.

He was only reassured as to his sister's whereabouts when a text arrived from Felicity to say that she had her on the cameras covering Verdant – and Roy was with her, helping her. Instead of feeling that brotherly need that normally came over him when he even thought of Roy with his sister, he felt relieved and a need to be with his own other half.

Even without casting Diggle a look (although he was glad to see him sitting up), he pulled Felicity out of her seat and into his arms, holding her tight against him as he buried his face in her hair for a moment to reassure himself.

Only then, with her by his side, did he turn his attention to his other friend. "How are you feeling?"

Shaking badly and rubbing his hands together, Diggle pulled his blanket around his shoulders, "Fine."

"You've a lousy poker face, John Diggle." He shot back as he looked down at the girl at his side. "Did he take the antidote?"

"It didn't work; the Count must have fudged with his recipe." She replied reaching out to pull the blanket tighter around Diggle's shoulder before all three caught the sudden sight of her screen being taken over.

"Felicity!" She was away from his side in a shot, her fingers literally dancing over the keyboard as she tried to trace the video call as it occurred even as they watched in horror the show being played out before them. Fifteen minutes later, she was still trying to track down the source. Sensing her frustration rising, Oliver moved to her side and rested a hand on her shoulder, "Sweetheart?"

"He's bounced it off one of S.T.A.R. Labs satellites, Oliver; he could have been sending the signal from Morcorvia for all I can get."

"What I can't get is, if he dosed the whole city why are only some people showing the symptoms?" Diggle asked as he managed to get off the table for a moment to stand with Oliver behind Felicity.

"Maybe he contaminated something in particular, something that only certain people like you and Donner were exposed to." Oliver responded before Felicity suddenly sat upright under his hand. "Felicity?"

"I found something!"

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_Well that's today's chapter up and running - it was supposed to be one chapter but it kind of ran away from me (and yes, I am delibrately keeping them around 1500 words a chapter!)_

_Coming tomorrow is Ch 17 - More than One Cure - which has more meanings than the obvious one for this storyline._

_Look forward to seeing what you think ;op_


	17. AAA Chapter 17

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Please see my A/N below for further information.

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**Chapter 17 – More than One Cure**

Felicity put the phone down on her desk and buried her hands for a minute – no matter the fact that she really did not like the unnameable Lance (her rule), she was glad that at least she still had some feelings for the Queen family. (She had also not missed the fact that even though Oliver had been the one to approach the other girl, he had made sure to keep a respectful distance between them and had avoided any attempt from the elder Lance girl to come closer).

"Oliver?" Diggle asked from where he was next to her, leaning his head on his hand as his vertigo-induced headache played with his psyche.

"He's staying with his mother and his sister." She raised her head and turned back to the screen (but for some reason, the timing of Moira Queen's affair with Malcolm Merlyn rang a bell at the back of her mind and she filed it away for future look at). "Can I just say how much I hate the Count for making me be here and not there for him at this point in time?"

"They'll be fine Felicity." He said reassuringly. "Now, have you got anywhere in working out how people are being contaminated."

"No." She shook her head. "The map of people with symptoms isn't helping because it's just so random. I need another denominator."

Diggle ran his hand over his face and did his best to think more outside the box. "What if people weren't dosed at home but were exposed at work? Can you pull up their work addresses?"

"I'm really beginning to wonder what it will take to impress you guys!" Felicity replied as she merely pressed a few buttons to put up the map Diggle had just suggested. As the dots flashed up on screen, her eyes widened. "It's... it's a trail, a path through the city. Any place you've been?"

Diggle pointed to a spot on the map. "There, it's where I got my flu shot. Are you saying that I got addicted from one injection?"

"That's all it takes." Felicity said almost absently as she played with a few other records. "And so did ADA Adam Donner and the truck is down town right now and there's no way I'm telling Oliver, he needs to stay with his mother and Thea."

"I don't like the way this conversation is going Felicity." Diggle tried to get up. "I'll go."

"I really don't think so," She replied as she caught him and pushed him back into his chair. "I'll go. If there's trouble, I'll call."

"He's not going to like this."

"He doesn't have a choice." The tone was not one he had really heard before but Diggle realised as she left the foundry that he had just been addressed by the Amazon, rather than just his friend Felicity.

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Felicity looked around the area in which the medical truck was stationed and found herself just a little surprised at just how much it was in the open. Instincts literally shouted at her that there was something wrong with the whole situation and much as her elder sister was wont to do on occasion, she told them to shut up and continued on.

There were times when it was more important to go into the unknown, especially when the life of one of your closest friends was at risk if you didn't. (Of course she would have preferred it if a certain man in green was with her but as she was prone to say - mainly because it drove him up the wall - it's her life, her choice! She should have known it would come back to kick her in the butt one day!)

Stepping forward, she pressed the door and when it sprang open, the sudden thought that she should perhaps phone Diggle or Oliver did cross her mind for brief moment but was dismissed as 'Once more unto the breach...' immediately followed.

(Apparently being an Amazon also meant being rather reckless on occasion as well!)

Calling out hello (although why she thought that would be of any use in what was clearly going to turn out to be a trap, hello genius, of course she realised what she was doing), she stepped in and started searching for the vertigo drug posing as a flu jab.

Sliding open the door she stared at the yellow serum, "Vertigo, gotcha!"

"Funny, I was just going to say the same thing." A slimy toned voice said from behind her and she swung round to find the Count standing behind her, "Hello there Blondie, welcome to my world."

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Watching his mother's lawyer walking away, it was not for the first time that Oliver found himself wishing that he had listened to Felicity and brought her with him to the courthouse. He needed her ability to keep him calm no matter the situation.

So when his phone started to ring and he saw her name on the screen, he was filled with a sudden sense of calm. What greeted him however had that changing faster than he really ever wanted.

His mind went almost blank – if there was one thing in the world that Oliver Queen was sure of, no-one but no-one threatened his Felicity without facing the consequences of that decision, preferably at the end of an arrow.

There was no-one more important to him, not even his own mother – especially when it was clear that her life was at stake.

With that one thought in mind, he walked away from his sister. "Ollie, where are you going?"

"I have to go, there's a problem at the office."

"But Ollie, the jury... they could come back at any minute."

"I have to go. I have no choice."

"OLLIE!"

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Hood down, Oliver walked slowly out of the elevator on to the executive floor of Queen Consolidated, his bow at the ready at his side. He had taken the journey up to the top floor to calm himself down, knowing that his ability to think on his feet might be all that was between Felicity and whatever the Count had planned for her.

He had not missed the sound of the slight sobs that had come from the woman he loved over the phone, and knowing his Amazon as well as he did, hoped and prayed that it had partly been to make the madman underestimate her.

He did not miss the sight of the Count playing with her ponytail as he walked past the glass wall that separated his personal conference room from the rest of the floor nor the way her hand were fixed to the arm of the chair or the way she was shaking.

But just for a moment, their eyes fixed on each other and a conversation without words carried on underneath the spoken words.

"Pretty swanky offices."

'_Are you alright?'_

"You can see all the destruction that your mom caused from up here."

'_I'm fine, just hurry, and get me out of here. Do what you need to do.'_

Only slightly reassured, Oliver finally focused his full attention on the Count and growled. "What do you want?"

"World peace and personal satisfaction and all that," The slimy growl of a man that was so impressed with himself responded as he caressed Felicity's neck, making her tense (and Oliver doing his best not to). "I hate you, you know, you poisoned me and put me in a hole but there's a man that hates you even more than I do."

"Who?"

"Oh you're going to be surprised when you find out. He's a man of means; he set me up with my new operation so I could draw you out." He ran his hand over Felicity's shoulder almost absently this time.

"To do what?" Oliver growled before he found himself flying for the floor as the Count pulled out his gun and started firing at him. Seconds past before he found himself facing what he realised was always the Count's real plan. Needles were paused at Felicity's neck as the Count pulled it back with her hair; his intention to poison her with vertigo clear.

What the Count could not see even as he ordered the Arrow to drop the bow was the look that crossed his hostage's face and because he was not capable of seeing the look that passed between the Amazon and her Arrow, he didn't realise that he was already dead.

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Half an hour later, Oliver walked back into the courthouse, Felicity's hand tight in his. He had been unable to let her out of his sight after what had just happened. And seeing her, Thea's face had almost lit up. She jumped off the bench, launching herself at the blonde (who was decidedly thankful that Oliver was standing behind her to steady her) as she caught her.

"Felicity," The younger woman stepped back and caught tell-tale signs of red indicating tears. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She replied even as she entwined her fingers in Thea's, looking back over her shoulder at Oliver. "There was a situation at the office..."

"It will be on the news later, don't worry about it." Oliver added as he wrapped his arm around Felicity's waist, holding up his hand to stop her asking any more questions. Ten minutes later, the couple found themselves swapping disbelieving looks at the verdict was read out. "This can't be happening, what's going on."

(Felicity also did not miss the look of disappointment on a certain lawyer's face either at seeing her with Oliver and if she had been of a more childish nature, she would have stuck her tongue out at her. She also did not miss the look on Moira Queen's face either.)

Over an hour later, still somewhat shocked by the fact that Moira Queen had been acquitted by the courts, they walked into the Foundry to find Diggle still waiting for them. "I didn't expect to see you two back here tonight."

"I..." A dig in his wounded arm (deliberately aimed) had him changing that quickly, "We wanted to check in on you to see how you were doing."

"I'm feeling better," Diggle replied as he reached out to gently punch Felicity's shoulder. "On hearing that it was our girl here that had been threatened, QC's Applied Sciences Division put everything into finding a non-addictive treatment and it seems to be working."

"Good." Oliver replied as he pulled Felicity closer to his side, her head resting on his shoulder. "I need to see Felicity home before I join the rest of my family, so why don't you go home now."

"I'll do that. Look after our girl, Oliver, she been through a lot tonight."

"I know." Oliver waited until he could no longer hear Diggle's footsteps on the stairs before he turned to the girl in his arms. Unable to help himself, he lowered his head and kissed her as hard as he could just to reassure himself once more that she was safe.

She pulled back slightly and ran her hand over his arm where he had been shot. "Oliver, I am sorry though, I never meant to be the reason that you broke your promise to Tommy, you know."

He pulled her back, cupping her cheek. "Felicity, he had you and he was going to hurt you, there was no choice to make." He kissed her again and then drew back. "You will always come first with me and I think even Tommy would have understood that there was only one road to take tonight and I took it. Okay?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, sighed and then nodded. "Okay."

If only they had known the horror that was about to be unleashed on Starling City.

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_Okay I give up, I should never word-limit myself - I always break so ignore yesterday's statement re chapter lengths! LOL!_

_And this didn't quite go the way I thought it would, Oliver kind of won the arguement to ring Felicity to the court and I couldn't talk him out of it! I still like it though so thats all that matters._

_As always please review both my Arrow stories and don't worry about a certain Mr Allen, he's not going to be a threat! ;op_


	18. AAA Chapter 18

Disclaimer: The characters of Oliver, Felicity, Diggle and others belong to CW and DC Comics.

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**Chapter 18 – From Past The Present**

Felicity sat down on the edge of Oliver's bed and pulled him to sit down beside her. "Oliver, you do realise that this plan of yours is not going to go down at all well with certain parties who shall remain un-named at this moment in time."

Placing his tie down on the bed beside him, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap so that she could rest her head on his shoulder while he rested his cheek on her head. "Is this why you don't want to come into the office with me this morning?"

"Well..." She drew out the word, "One of them."

"Felicity."

"Oliver..." She buried her face in his neck in an attempt not to answer him but he actually resorted to digging his fingers into her side in one of her most ticklish spots before she answered him. "Your mother doesn't like me."

"She doesn't know you."

"She doesn't want to know me, I'm not the gorgeous other un-named person."

"For which I thank whichever one of your numerous relatives is responsible for every day." He replied as he lifted her chin so that he could see into the blue eyes that kept him same in more ways than one before kissing her. "Felicity, I have to go through this so that..."

"Oliver, what are you playing at?" Felicity narrowed her eyes at him before they widened in slight shock. "This is your way of showing her that she will have to pay for what she did..." She hit him in the shoulder, "By subjecting her to that... Oliver!"

She hit him again. "As much as I may, and I mean, may have issues with your mother, subjecting her to that... woman is cruel and unusual punishment... especially when I think there is history we don't know of between them."

He merely shrugged. "I haven't been completely redeemed, sweetheart."

Felicity rolled her eyes but then wrapped her arms around his neck. "You, agape mou, are truly quite dastardly." She kissed him hard before reaching over to grab his tie and placing it around his neck, tied it then rose to her feet. "And I have to go so that I can make sure everything is in place for this morning's meeting."

She stopped for a second. "I also have to make sure that we have spare glass walls in stock as well just in case."

"Felicity!" She left the mansion with his laughter ringing in her ears and a smile that almost outshone the sun gracing her face.

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Oliver Queen had not expected to come out of what he had always known was going to be an explosive meeting (It was that he completely ignored what Isabel Rochev had to say, it just wasn't important to him nor that unexpected, thanks to his more intelligent and beautiful other half) to be greeted by Diggle saying, "Oliver, there's been a break-in."

He had also not expected to find that the break in had occurred at the one place that was considered impregnable. ("Titantic!" Felicity had coughed behind her hand, making him hide a smile even in his concern.)

"This door was made of reinforced expanded titanium," Diggle said after expecting the bent door. "What was used to do this?"

Lance walked behind him as Felicity moved to stand next to Oliver, who was still crouched down examining the door and rested her hand on his back. "Detective..." She said softly, raising concerned blue baby doe eyes to the police officer to encourage him to reply.

"We're not sure yet, there's no sign of any explosive, maybe a crane or a forklift." He replied almost immediately, unable to not respond to that look. "We're guessing there was maybe three, or at least four."

Behind him, all three members of Team Arrow moved to stand together, Felicity being unconsciously being moved into the middle of them, her hand moving into Oliver's in silent reassurance.

"All we are certain of is that they are fast." Lance continued as he moved so that he could have a view of the warehouse. "Any idea what these guys were so hot to break in here for? Didn't happen to leave a spare earthquake machine lying around, did you?"

"Detective Lance!" Felicity growled, hitting him in the shoulder even as Oliver silently glared at him.

"Sorry!" It was not the first time that he had felt that glare from that particular young man but it was the first time that he actually genuinely felt he had been out of order with his own attitude (and he most definitely did not like being on the wrong side of Felicity!)

And what happened with the entrance of the CSI boy from Central City was something he most definitely did not miss. Especially as it seemed that the moment Barry Allen caught sight of Felicity and her attention, he stopped speaking for a very brief moment in time and Oliver caught hold of Felicity's hand, drawing her into his side.

Felicity and Diggle however were the only people that caught the strange look that crossed Oliver's face as the young CSI explained that the man that had committed the crime was unusually stronger than normal - especially as in the back of Felicity's vast memory banks, she knew and feared the reason why almost as much as Oliver and she tightened her own fingers around his to reassure him and herself that they were momentarily safe.

She most definitely did not miss the uneasy look that crossed Oliver's face at the mention of torque and breaking someone's neck - something, that contrary to popular opinion, all three of them knew, not that she would ever admit out loud – and she wrapped both arms around Oliver's for a moment.

As the conversation became slightly technical – and all three Starling City men were not ashamed to admit they didn't understand single word the young technician had said and were all extremely proud that Felicity did – even as both Diggle and Lance did not miss the way Oliver almost bristled at the openly admiring way Barry gazed at her.

To a point that Lance felt that it would be safer to draw her away for a moment to speak to her. "You might want to fill in our mutual friend in on this."

"Don't worry." Felicity was only too aware that Oliver was actually listening to them (for one thing, she knew her partner and for another, she just couldn't understand why people didn't realise that being in isolation on the island would have changed him to such an extent.) and she smiled slightly (a smile he knew was meant for him and not Lance) as she continued. "I'm sure he's already on it."

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Oliver turned from watching the rain fall down the windows of his office and found his memories of the past dismissed where they belonged as he caught Felicity literally rolling from screen to screen then her tablet as she sought to find him more information.

His concentration was only broken as Diggle entered the room. "Oliver, that CSI kid was right; the centrifuge is the only thing missing from the warehouse."

"A-ha!" With a slight spring to her step, Felicity followed closely behind him and neither Oliver nor Diggle were slow to miss the worried look in her eyes. "You have to see this. I called up the traffic cams in the area and found this from across the street from Applied Sciences. This is three minutes after the alarm went off." With that she showed them the camera footage of the man carrying the centrifuge out of the building.

The entrance of Barry Allen into the room changed the atmosphere once again and Oliver drew Felicity to one side, indicating for Diggle to take him out of the room. "Felicity, what are you doing?"

"Oliver, are you... jealous?" Felicity was actually amused, irritated and highly complimented all in one shot but chose to go with amused. "Oliver, he appears to know more about this case than we do, it makes sense. Besides forensic science, it's not exactly my forte so..." She looked back over her shoulder at the young man looking around Oliver's office with an almost child-like fascination. "I think we need him." She continued as she looked up into Oliver's darkening eyes and she rested her hand on his chest over his heart. "Oliver, look at him, he's a lost puppy and for some strange reason, I have this need to mother/big sister him."

Oliver gritted his teeth for a moment and then nodded, covering her hand with his own. He caught her gaze and a silent conversation sprang up between them before he nodded. "Watch him carefully, Felicity, use his knowledge..."

"But don't trust him completely." She replied in the same soft tone as she reached up to caress his cheek before turning to walk towards the younger man. "Come with me and I'll show you around, Mr Allen."

"Why do I get the feeling you know more about this than our new young friend, Oliver?" Diggle asked once he was sure he was out of earshot. "And that Felicity suspects it as well."

"Pray I'm wrong John." Oliver replied as he turned back to the rain-covered window.

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_Well, this was supposed to be one chapter but as it got longer, I decided to split it so that you get two chapter again this weekend._

_I would like to take this opportunity to thank my regular reviewers, **Lililovereading, annependragon, Sci-fi Christian** and **Husky2014** who have reviewed every chapter so far and invite all those who have favourited, liked, followed etc to join the club. Any new reviews tonight and I will mention you in tomorrow's chapter!_

_Don't forget to review Wizard's View as well ;op_


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